AN isolated tribe that killed an American missionary who tried to convert them to Christianity will NOT face murder charges, it has emerged.

John Allen Chau, 26, was killed in a hail of arrows after venturing onto the remote island of North Sentinel in the Indian Ocean last year.

The US citizen had been illegally ferried by fishermen to make contact with the cut-off Sentinelese community – who are fiercely opposed to outsiders.

But America's Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom said in a press conference earlier this month that the US is not pressing for murder charges to be brought.

Asked if the US government would ask India – which holds territorial rights over the island – to bring murder charges, Ambassador Samuel Brownback said it was a "tragic case."

NOT SEEKING PROSECUTIONS

But he added: "A gentleman went to contact a tribe on one of the islands off in the Indian Ocean off of India, and was killed in the process.

"The United States Government has not asked or pursued any sort of sanctions that the Indian Government would do against the tribal people in this case.

"That’s not been something that we have requested or have put forward.

"It’s a tragic situation and a tragic case of what’s happened, but that’s not something that’s been asked."

John described himself on Instagram as a “Wilderness EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), “PADI Advanced Open Water Diver”, “Outbound Collective Explorer” and a “Snakebite Survivor”.

A journal belonging him was found by police after his death contained notes about his desire to spread God’s word.

All Alone: Who are the Sentinelese tribe?

THE Sentinelese tribe are an indigenous tribe who have thrived on North Sentinal Island, one of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, for up to 55,000 years.

They have zero contact with the outside world and are actively hostile to anyone who approaches their land.

The small forested island of North Sentinel, which is a similar size to Manhattan, is even off limits to the Indian navy in a bid to protect the tribe of about 150 from being wiped out by disease.

The tribe got international attention after the 2004 tsunami, when a member of the tribe was pictured on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter inspecting their welfare.

In 2006, two Indian fishermen, who had moored their boat near the island to sleep after fishing near there, were killed when their boat broke loose and drifted onto the shore.

Campaigns by non-profit and local organisations have led the Indian government to abandon plans to contact the Sentinelese.

Survival International, an organisation that campaigns for the rights of tribal people, works to ensure that no further attempts are made to contact the tribe.

In a final message to his family, the evangelical Christian from Vancouver, Washington, wrote: "You guys might think I am crazy in all this but I think it's worth it to declare Jesus to these people.

"This is not a pointless thing – the eternal lives of this tribe is at hand and I can't wait to see them around the throne of God worshipping in their own language as Revelation 7:9-10 states."

He was killed on November 17 last year after making repeated trips to North Sentinel on his kayak.

The fishermen who took him to within a few hundred yards of the shore reported seeing his body lying on the sand the following day.

MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS

Efforts to recover John's body were abandoned over fears of further antagonising the remote Sentinelese – who are believed to be one of the world's last uncontacted people.

Earlier this month, John's grieving dad blamed "extreme Christianity" for his son's death.

Dr Patrick Chau told the Guardian: "If you have (anything) positive to say about religion, I wish not to see or hear".

Island orgies: The Sentinelese were once observed engaging in group sex by an expedition

THE remote tribe have had virtually no contact with the outside world but the little they have had has been bizarre.

Most of the contact has been violent with the last people known to visit the island before Mr Chau being a pair of fisherman whose boat drifted into shore after they moored up nearby in 2006.

The two men were found dead on the beach the following morning.

But one instance decades ago was altogether more baffling as the tribe engaged in group sex on the beach.

Indian anthropologist, Triloknath Pandit, observed the baffling scene on March 29, 1970.

He wrote: "They all began shouting some incomprehensible words. We shouted back and gestured to indicate that we wanted to be friends. The tension did not ease.

"At this moment, a strange thing happened – a woman paired off with a warrior and sat on the sand in a passionate embrace. This act was being repeated by other women, each claiming a warrior for herself, a sort of community mating, as it were.

"Thus did the militant group diminish.

"This continued for quite some time and when the tempo of this frenzied dance of desire abated, the couples retired into the shade of the jungle."

Source: Read Full Article