A Nepali court in late December found four Christians guilty of violence and witchcraft against a severely mentally ill woman whom they sought to heal, even though she testified in court in their favour, saying she was now better.
The four were sentenced to five years in prison. A fifth Christian, Rupa Thapa, was found not guilty and released after the hearing in a district in western Nepal.
Imprisoned since July
The five had been imprisoned since July for witchcraft, forceful imprisonment and violence towards the woman, despite her husband also saying they are innocent. Alongside those charges, they were questioned about trying to convert their alleged victim.
Seti Pariyar was sent by her father-in-law, who used to be a Christian, to a local church for healing prayer from apparently ‘being possessed by demons’. Witnesses report that Pariyar left the church before the prayer service was over. She was later found shouting and self-harming in a nearby forest, and taken back to her home.
More than a month later, a local businessman gave an account of the incident to the local media and, on the basis of that report, a complaint was filed against the five who were then arrested. An appeal team was created to advocate for the release of the prisoners, which appeared at first to be successful. Local bureaucrats and politicians assured them that the five would be released.
Meanwhile the alleged victim and her husband testified at the district court to say the five did not act forcefully or inhumanely towards her. She later testified at the church that she was completely healed because of the prayer.
Local church leaders report that they think the five were ‘trapped’, targeted as minority Christians.
