Lanka court gives death to five Indian fishermen
31 Oct 2014 5:46 AM IST
Five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been given death sentence by a Sri Lankan court in a heroin smuggling case. India will appeal against the sentence in a higher court, said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs. India has been tracking the case since 2011 when the fishermen were arrested, said Akbaruddin.
The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka has been assisting the fishermen with legal aid. ‘We feel the fishermen are not guilty. We will follow the legal process and will do our best to get them back to India,’ he said.
The arrest of Indian fishermen who stray into Lankan waters has long been an issue in Tamil Nadu. Some headway was made regarding their release during the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. In June, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who had boycotted the swearing-in in protest against the invitation to Rajapaksa, wrote to Modi, asking him to make the issue a priority.
After the BJP was voted to power in Delhi, Sri Lankan President had ordered release of a few hundred Indian fishermen arrested for trespassing into Lankan waters during festive occasions.
However, those accused of drug peddling were not allowed to go.
The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka has been assisting the fishermen with legal aid. ‘We feel the fishermen are not guilty. We will follow the legal process and will do our best to get them back to India,’ he said.
The arrest of Indian fishermen who stray into Lankan waters has long been an issue in Tamil Nadu. Some headway was made regarding their release during the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. In June, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who had boycotted the swearing-in in protest against the invitation to Rajapaksa, wrote to Modi, asking him to make the issue a priority.
After the BJP was voted to power in Delhi, Sri Lankan President had ordered release of a few hundred Indian fishermen arrested for trespassing into Lankan waters during festive occasions.
However, those accused of drug peddling were not allowed to go.
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