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	Abhaya Interrogation Broadcasts Shock Kerala Church Indian Catholic September 15, 2009 http://www.indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/13315-1-1-Abhaya-interrogation-broadcasts-shock-Kerala-Church THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India : Church officials in Kerala state have expressed shock and dismay after private TV channels broadcast videos of two priests and a nun under interrogation by police, who drugged them. The broadcasts on Sept. 14 showed Father Thomas Kottoor, 62, Father Jose Poothrukayil, 57, and Sister Sephy, 47, apparently admitting that they murdered another Sister Abhaya inside a convent more than 17 years ago. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's top investigating agency, conducted the so-called narcoanalysis on the three after they were arrested in November 2008. Church leaders in Kerala as well as lawyers have accused the TV channels of violating media ethics by airing matters related to a case that is still under trial. "There is a hidden agenda and conspiracy behind the issue," says Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, a Catholic Oriental-rite Church based in the southern state. The three accused belong to its Kottayam archdiocese, as did Sister Abhaya. Father Thelakat said the broadcasts were "most unfortunate" and accused the media of conducting its own trial of the case. "There is an attempt from certain quarters to malign the Church's image in the Abhaya case," the priest told UCA News. The accused, he asserted, have a right to dignity and "the media have no reason to violate it." Archbishop Mathew Moolekkatt of Kottayam likewise deplored the broadcasts as "irresponsible media action that violated basic human rights." The archbishop's statement said the Kerala High Court had earlier ordered a probe into alleged tampering of the narcoanalysis video CDs. "The court should investigate and punish the culprits who are responsible for leaking the tampered CDs, because the court is monitoring the case," the archbishop's statement added. Sister Abhaya's body was found on March 27, 1992, inside the well of Pius X Convent in Kottayam. The two accused priests were teachers in a college where Sister Abhaya, 21 at the time, was a student. She and Sister Sephy belonged to the locally founded Sisters of St. Joseph's Congregation and lived in the convent. The CBI claims the two priests and the accused nun murdered Sister Abhaya to conceal a sexual escapade. Its investigators allege Sister Sephy hit the younger nun with an axe, after which the three accused dumped the body in the well. A vigilance committee that Kottayam laypeople set up, with official backing, to monitor conduct of the trial also condemned the media action and demanded an investigation. Charlie Paul, a Kerala High Court lawyer and Catholic youth leader, believes the media action infringed on the rights of the accused. He pointed out that the broadcasts occurred soon after the magistrate conducting the case handed an investigation report over to the lawyer for the accused. The media action is "sub judice and a clear violation of human rights," Paul told UCA News, referring to the law concerning coverage of a matter under court judgment. "It's a matter of concern, as the media continue Church baiting in the Abhaya case." Soon after the broadcasts began around noon, Father Poothrukayil and Sister Sephy complained to the magistrate, who ordered the channels to stop immediately. However, some channels continued to air the program until 6 p.m. "By then the damage was already done. We are all in a shock," remarked John Joseph, a Catholic layman. He regretted that the media, which should act as a guardian of human rights, had reneged on its duty. Joseph said the Church's image has suffered for a long time because of the Indian media sensationalizing the case.
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