Placeholder canvas

Death for 5 Tamil fishermen

Date:

Colombo: Five Indian fishermen were given death penalty by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for alleged drug trafficking, prompting a response from India that it will appeal to a higher court against the judgement.

The five fishermen, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, were apprehended in 2011 by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of smuggling of drugs, official sources said.

The five Indians are among a group of eight people sentenced to death by the High Court in Colombo. They were arrested on a boat in the seas off northern Jaffna’s Delft islet.

The High Court judge Preethi Padman Surasena passed judgement on the five Indians and three Sri Lankans for involvement in heroin trafficking between India and Sri Lanka in 2011.

However, the Indian government, which has been pursuing their case for the last four years, maintains that it has done due diligence and found them to be innocent.

Immediately reacting to the Sri Lankan court verdict, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin in New Delhi said, “India’s High Commission in Colombo will appeal to higher court through a lawyer against the judgement by the lower court against these five Indian fishermen”.

He also said India has been pursuing the case at both levels – legal and official – and will continue doing so.

The issue of fishermen is a very emotive matter for both Sri Lanka and India, where Tamil Nadu-based parties including AIADMK and DMK have been regularly pressing the Centre to take up the matter with the Lankan authorities seriously and have often resented high-profile visits from the island nation.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

IPL 2024: Riyan Parag Shines As RR Posts 185/5 Against DC

Jaipur: In a remarkable turn of events, Rajasthan Royals...

NIA Arrests One Key Conspirator In Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Case

New Delhi: In a significant development in the investigation...

H1B Visa: USCIS Gears Up For Lottery Selection For Fy-25

Due to a technical issue with its website, the USCIS delayed the deadline for visa applications for the financial year 2025 by three days from March 22nd to March 25th, 2024

To Browbeat And Bully Others Is Vintage Congress Culture: PM Modi After 600 Lawyers Write CJI

New Delhi: In response to the voiced apprehensions of...