Free fishermen languishing in Kish Island, Iran urged

Manama : Indian Embassy in Tehran has called upon the Iranian government to expedite the release of expatriate fishermen languishing in that country’s jails. 

The embassy requested government officials to free the 15 fishermen on humanitarian grounds, who have been held up on boats on Kish Island since October 20, 2016 under charges of encroaching into Iranian waters. 

The 30 fishermen, out of which 15 worked in Bahrain have not been provided any food, water, medicines or other basic amenities for the past months and have been struggling to survive in difficult conditions. 

Indian Embassy’s letter to the Iranian government included details of one of the detained fishermen, R. Ravi who lost his mother in India and has been unable to attend her last rites because of the circumstances. 

They informed the government that the owner of the boats had already deposited the fines and penalties imposed by the Iranian courts and that their families were worried about the delays despite completing all legal formalities. 

The request was made to Iran’s Director General of Protocol, Director General of Consular Affairs, Director General of West Asia Division and to the nation’s Head of Social Affairs after Indian Embassy Bahrain and President of International Fishermen Development Trust (INFIDET) Justin Antony took up the cause for the fishermen and their families.

Expressing grave concerns about the issue, Antony said: “We understand that the Embassy has made considerable efforts. But the fishermen are in a miserable state.

“We request the honourable external affairs ministers to travel to Iran and initiate the talk with the concerned authorities in Iran, so that there is a scope for release of these fishermen at the earliest.” 

Previously, families of these 30 fishermen had also appealed for their release and spoken about their terrible plight as these men were the only source of income for the household. 

“My two children have stopped attending school, as we are now simply unable to pay their school fees. The fishermen have not committed any crime. They accidentally strayed into Iran’s waters. I plead with the Union Government to take necessary steps to repatriate them”, Kanyakumari-based Sahaya Subi, wife of Kiruba, one of the detained fishermen said.