Sri Lanka releases 99 fishermen
The Sri Lanka government on Wednesday released 99 Indian fishermen, who were arrested on various occasions on charges of straying into the Island nation’s territorial waters and indulged in illegal fishing activities.
“The fishermen were released, without their fishing vessels, after being formally produced in Judicial Magistrate Courts (JM) at Puttalam, Mannar, Mallakam and Kaytes,” said U.Arulanandam, President of Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF).
The Indian High Commission officials in Colombo were making arrangements for the repatriation of all the 99 released fishermen to their native places in a couple of days, he said.
Based on the release order issued by the Sri Lanka government in a goodwill gesture, 49 fishermen from Ramanathapuram district, 20 fishermen from Thoothukudi district, 19 from Pudukottai district, eight from Nagapattinam district and three from Thanjavur district were freed by the Lankan courts.
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