RAMANATHAPURAM: Three Rameswaram fishermen were sentenced to six months imprisonment and imposed a fine of SLR (Sri Lankan Rupee) 50,000 each by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for allegedly violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) for the second time. The court also ordered the release of five other Indian fishermen, who will be brought back to India in a couple of weeks.
This comes on the day Chief Minister MK Stalin sent a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urging him to ensure the repatriation of four Pudukkottai fishermen, who were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday.
In his letter, Stalin also highlighted the case of 12 fishermen, who were taken into custody by SL authorities in July, mentioning the imposition of a hefty fine of Rs 1.5 crore on them by the island nation’s court. He emphasised that such penalties would push the already struggling families of these fishermen into even greater hardship.
Sources said the SL Navy captured a fishing boat, carrying eight fishermen hailing from Rameswaram, on August 27. The fishers were subsequently taken to Thalaimannar for legal proceedings. After two weeks of judicial custody, the eight men were produced before the court on Thursday.
The court found that three of the eight men were second-time IMBL violators and hence, sentenced them to six months in jail. Whereas, the other five fishermen were released on conditional bail and imposed a fine of SLR 50,000 each. The released fishers were handed over to Indian embassy officials, while the three others were sent to a Lankan prison.
Meanwhile, fishermen associations from Ramanathapuram condemned the Sri Lankan government’s action and the imposition of exorbitant fines upon the fishers. Karunamoorthi, a fishermen leader, said the imposition of such a huge sum as a fine upon the fishers would adversely affect their livelihood, and urged the union government to hold talks with the Lankan government to lift such harsh punishments laid on Indian fishers.