Friday, April 21, 2006
Supreme Court grants bail to Bishop M.A. Thomas
Hopegivers Founder Bishop M.A. Thomas was finally granted freedom on bail today by the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Bishop Thomas had been forced underground for more than two months after an arrest warrant was issued and terrorists put a $26,000 bounty on his head. His son, Dr. Samuel Thomas, remains in prison and his bail will be considered again on Monday, April 24.
The decision provides welcome relief from a vicious campaign of persecution against Christians in the lower courts of Rajasthan, a north Indian state controlled by the radically anti-Christian BJP government.
In the same Supreme Court hearing, bail was also granted to the Rev. V.S. Thomas, the executive director of the large orphanage supported by Hopegivers in Kota, Rajasthan. Pastor Thomas (not related to Bishop M.A. Thomas) has been held for 61 days in jail as part of a persecution campaign against Christians by government authorities in the state. The news comes as a great relief to Indian Christians who have been praying and writing letters to the Indian government for two months.
Hopegivers Co-Founder Dr. Samuel Thomas has now been held in a Rajasthan jail for 37 days and awaits his next bail hearing on Monday.
Several anti-Christian elements have combined their efforts in recent months in an attempt to shut down the work of Hopegivers International through intimidation and violence. The latest tactic has been harassment through litigation with the help of politicized local authorities. A legal team for the radical anti-Christians claims that they are preparing 14 more suits against the humanitarian organization which cares for 10,000 orphaned or abandoned children.
Supreme Court grants bail to Bishop M.A. Thomas
Hopegivers Founder Bishop M.A. Thomas was finally granted freedom on bail today by the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Bishop Thomas had been forced underground for more than two months after an arrest warrant was issued and terrorists put a $26,000 bounty on his head. His son, Dr. Samuel Thomas, remains in prison and his bail will be considered again on Monday, April 24.
The decision provides welcome relief from a vicious campaign of persecution against Christians in the lower courts of Rajasthan, a north Indian state controlled by the radically anti-Christian BJP government.
In the same Supreme Court hearing, bail was also granted to the Rev. V.S. Thomas, the executive director of the large orphanage supported by Hopegivers in Kota, Rajasthan. Pastor Thomas (not related to Bishop M.A. Thomas) has been held for 61 days in jail as part of a persecution campaign against Christians by government authorities in the state. The news comes as a great relief to Indian Christians who have been praying and writing letters to the Indian government for two months.
Hopegivers Co-Founder Dr. Samuel Thomas has now been held in a Rajasthan jail for 37 days and awaits his next bail hearing on Monday.
Several anti-Christian elements have combined their efforts in recent months in an attempt to shut down the work of Hopegivers International through intimidation and violence. The latest tactic has been harassment through litigation with the help of politicized local authorities. A legal team for the radical anti-Christians claims that they are preparing 14 more suits against the humanitarian organization which cares for 10,000 orphaned or abandoned children.
