Five Indian fishermen are among the eight people awarded death penalty by the Sri lankan High Court in Colombo on Thursday for their alleged role in drug trafficking.
Indian Government responded by saying it will appeal to the higher court against the judgment. The Indian fishermen have time till November 14 to appeal against the ruling in the Sri lankan Supreme Court.“The Indian High Commission in Colombo will, through lawyer, appeal to higher court against the judgment by the lower court on five Indian fishermen,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. He added that India has been pursuing their case at both legal and official levels and it will continue doing so.
All five fishermen are from Tamil Nadu and were arrested by the lankan Navy from a boat in the seas of northern Jaffna’s Delft islet in 2011 on charges of drug smuggling.
Colombo High Court judge Preethi Padman Surasena passed judgement on the five Indians and three Sri lankans for their 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.
Indians crossing the International Maritime Boundary line and poaching from the territorial waters of Sri lanka have become a regular event. A large number of fishermen from Tamil Nadu in Sri lankan jails have been released unconditionally by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a measure of good will. However, 76 boats seized by the Sri lankan Navy are still in the custody of the island nation’s Government. The fishermen issue is a highly emotive matter for both countries with political parties regularly pressing the Centre to take up the matter with the lankan authorities.
The sentencing of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Colombo court comes at a crucial time for both India and Sri lanka. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, is scheduled to visit Colombo in November-December as a precursor to the State visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the island nation. President Rajapaksa is expected to call for snap polls in January, almost two years ahead of schedule.