Nine fishermen from Kanniyakumari district in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who are stuck in an Iranian prison, contacted their family members on Sunday and requested their help to rescue them.
“The lawyer, who obtained Rs 8.1 lakh from the family members is now cheating on them by not appearing for the case. The Indian government should interfere in the issue and should immediately bring back the 9 Indian fishermen,” said Justin Antony, founding president, International Fishermen Development Trust (INFIDET).
The nine fishermen working in Kuwait were arrested in January, last year, by Iranian Naval forces, for fishing in Iranian waters. Since then the fishermen were put up in a single cell in Iran despite COVID-19 scare.
Meanwhile, the families of the fishermen through a middleman gave Rs 8.1 lakh to a lawyer based in Iran to bail the fishermen out. But the fishermen in the phone call claimed that the lawyer is not helping them to come out of prison.
“The lawyer is saying that their case will be heard in a day or two since their arrest, but so far no such thing has happened. Now citing COVID-19 spread they are not able to contact him,” said Justin Antony, who also urged the Ministry of External Affairs to engage a lawyer in Iran to get the fishermen released at the earliest.
2021, Daily Thanthi