Strongly condemning the death penalty awarded to five Tamil Nadu fishermen by a Sri lankan court, the AIADMK Government on Thursday said it has ‘incensed’ all sections of the society and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention for their release.
In a letter to Modi, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam described the verdict as “unjust” and raised apprehension whether the fishermen received a fair trial.“On behalf the people of Tamil Nadu, I strongly condemn the unjust conviction meted out to the five Indian fishermen from Rameswaram Emerson, Agastas, Wilson, Prasath and langlet,” he said.He said, “The State Government had insisted these fishermen were innocent and the case had been foisted on them and also that the evidence against them in the court is a fabrication”.
He said his predecessor J Jayalalithaa had repeatedly taken up the matter both with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also Modi, following which the case had been been taken up in several Inter-Ministerial and Joint Working Group meetings. It had also figured prominently in the fishermen level talks.