An Update on Sanal Edamaruku

Just a quick update with some better news about Sanal Edamaruku, the Indian skeptic who faces jail time for exposing a “miracle.”

After being repeatedly asked to turn himself in to the nearest police station, Sanal has decided to whisk himself off to Finland and he is currently staying in Helsinki while he appeals the decision not to grant him “anticipatory bail” (which would keep him in jail until his trial). This means the threat of arrest and imprisonment has gone for now. Sanal has made he it clear that is he more than happy to be arrested and have his day in court because it allows him to put various Catholic leaders on the witness stand under oath. Who wouldn’t want that?

Prior to moving to Finland, his lawyers had been receiving daily phone calls from the police asking him to turn himself in, forcing him to go into hiding in India. While he is coordinating his defense from abroad, his lawyers have filed three cases. One is an appeal against the decision not to award anticipatory bail, the second is to have the case thrown out, and a third is a request to the Indian Supreme Court to remove article 295(a) from the Constitution on the grounds of it being against free speech.

In the meantime Sanal is away from his family, but hopefully not for much longer as a decision on the anticipatory bail appeal is expected this week — at which point he can return home to be arrested, safe in the knowledge he will not face jail time before any potential trial.

The petition has been signed by a little under 6,000 people so please read the petition here and sign it if you haven’t already.

gski

Seems a bit odd that he wants bail to return and there is evidence that he is a flight risk.
bobo

Wow, just read that article in the Indian constitution. What a crazy outrageous assault on free speech. Signed the petition.
Patterrssonn

Not really, the rational for refusing him bail was that he would be safer in jail. A rational rendered even more absurd now that he is in Helsinki.
St Pious the Innocent

It seems someone is upset that their miracle is just water leakage. Sad to see that their god is false and they can’t seem to follow the guidance of their messiah by turning the other cheek.
a skeptic

http://mumbailaity.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/mr-sanal-no-church-authority-claimed-that-the-irla-cross-dripping-was-a-miracle/

Since there are always two sides to every story, I’d thought you might like to read the other side.

Before Edmaruku had ever laid eyes on the irla cross, he declared on public TV that it was faked by the local priests to defraud the religious out of money. He also claimed the Catholic Church worshiped idols, the church declared the cross a miracle, and that the Pope was an exorcist. The private catholic organizations offer to buy him a ticket to examine the cross if he would apologize for lying about the priests. (the cross isn’t in a church, it’s at a private citizens home). When he refused, they filed complaints about the lies he had told. It’s basically a defamation and libel complaint.

The articles you’ve been reading, and quoted by the author were written by the very same society that Mr. Edmaruku is president. Funny that wasn’t disclosed.