Thirteen Indian fishermen from Rameswaram and Pudukottai, who had been imprisoned in Sri Lanka, arrived back in Chennai on Saturday morning. The fishermen, who were released from a Sri Lankan prison, were welcomed by officials from the state fisheries department at the Chennai airport. They were then transported to their hometowns in a special bus.
Six of the fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on July 1st, accused of fishing beyond the country’s territorial borders. Their boats and nets were seized, and they were placed in judicial custody. The remaining seven fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested on July 13th.
Following their arrest, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, requesting his intervention to secure their release. After negotiations between the Indian and Sri Lankan embassies, a Sri Lankan court eventually released the fishermen.
They were handed over to Indian embassy officials in Sri Lanka and flown back to Chennai on an Air India flight. The release and return of the fishermen marks a positive development in the ongoing tensions between India and Sri Lanka regarding fishing rights in the Palk Strait.
