After spending 11 years behind bars for a murder they did not commit, five Christians in eastern India were finally ordered to be freed on 26 November.
The Supreme Court of India issued a decision granting bail to the five believers from Odisha (formerly Orissa) state. They had been falsely accused of killing Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, whose death in 2008 in led to anti-Christian attacks that saw 120 people killed, over 5,000 homes destroyed and 55,000 Christians displaced.
Even the mentally impaired framed
Christian leaders and activists maintained that the Christians were framed and falsely accused. They also claimed that the charge against one of the group, who is mentally challenged, typified the absurdity of the charges.