Fishermen get their freedom to unite with family

Manama : Fifteen fishermen who were detained in Iran last October finally got their freedom. 

Ending months-long agony and suffering they all made it back to Bahrain on Monday via. Mina Salman Port.  

They will be flying back to their home country today morning. 

The fishermen from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu were detained by the Iranian authorities after allegedly straying into Iranian waters. 

“We are thankful to the people who got out us out of this situation and took extra effort to see us unite with our family,” said Vargees, one of the fishermen, to DT News.  

“I would also like to request the media to help the others who are still stuck in Iran, as we are well aware of their hardships.” Reports say, 22 more men are there in Iran’s custody. 

The Iranian authorities provided the fishermen little food and water even after their sponsor had paid the fines imposed on them by the Iranian court. 

“We were all in miserable states,” Vargees said adding that they didn’t even given water or food on most days.

“We were confined to our boats and were beaten up even for the slightest hesitation.

“We weren’t even allowed to walk or move around,” Vargees said. “However, it’s the mental trauma that mattered us most. We pretended to be fine to keep our family from getting worried,” Vargees said revealing that were given only a few opportunities to speak with their families. 

Justin Anthony, President of  International Fishermen Development Trust (INFIDET) told DT News, “ I would like to thank the media and the Embassy of India in Bahrain for their constant support.”

“Most importantly these people are now going back to India to unite with their families,” he added.