Christian couple sentenced to five years in prison in India

Jose and Sheeja Pappachan were convicted following accusations of trying to coerce individuals into converting to Christianity.
The special court of Ram Bilas Singh in Ambedkar Nagar District also imposed a fine of 25,000 rupees each, which is the equivalent of 300 USD.
Local Christians and international rights advocates condemned the conviction on the basis of being prejudiced against religious minorities. A.C. Michael, the national coordinator of the United Christian Forum, observes anti-conversion cases. He argues that the evidence is not substantial: “This is the first time we have encountered such a sentence for a suspected conversion attempt. The conviction for a suspected attempt to convert will not stand the scrutiny of a higher court.”
Chandrika Prasad, the complainant, registered a case against the Christian couple on the 18 January 2023. Police arrested them right away. Sheeja was imprisoned on the same day, and Jose was incarcerated on the 22nd January 2023. Chandrika accused them of targeting poor families and influencing them to convert to Christianity. The couple tried to explain that they only intended to offer education and promote sobriety, not to coerce poor Dalits. They said they had distributed Bibles, organised community events and helped members of the tribe with community meals.
The court sentenced the couple to five years in prison under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act.
They spent eight months in confinement. Eventually state’s High Court released them on bail in September 2023 on the basis that “providing good teachings, distributing the Holy Bible, encouraging children to get an education, organizing assemblies of villagers and conducting bhandaras (community meals), instructing villagers not to argue and also not drink liquor does not amount to allurement.”
The United Christian Forum recorded 834 verified acts of violence and intimidation against Indian Christians. Around 100 Christians are imprisoned across India on accusations of “forcible conversion, with bail repeatedly denied. The justice process has become the punishment.”
Source: https://www.christianpost.com