Tamil Nadu: Sri Lanka Releases 56 Fishermen Held For Crossing IMBL In Dec 2021

The release of the fishermen comes as Indian authorities requested Sri Lanka to release the fishermen on humanitarian grounds.

Fishermen reaching the shore | Credit: Pixabay

Chennai: A Sri Lankan Court on Tuesday released 56 Tamil Nadu fishermen, including 43 fishers from Rameswaram and 13 from Pudukottai, arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for crossing International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) on December 18 and 20. 

In a tweet, the High Commission of India in Colombo said, "Happy to learn that a Court has ordered the release of 56 #Indian fishermen."

In response, Union Minister for External Affairs Jaishankar said, "Commend the work of High Commissioner Gopal Baglay and his team in securing the release."

According to a report on PTI, Sri Lankan officials and Indian diplomats confirmed that with the release there are no more Indian fishermen in the custody of the island nation.

The release of the fishermen comes as Indian authorities requested Sri Lanka to release them on humanitarian grounds. India also released an economic relief package to Sri Lanka to tackle the worst foreign exchange crisis.

Earlier this month, during the meeting between Union Minister Jaishankar and Sri Lankan President Basil Rajapaksa the fishermen issue was also discussed.

On Tuesday, TN CM Stalin wrote to PM Modi on Sri Lanka government's move to auction boats seized from Tamil Nadu fishermen. In an advertisement, the Sri Lankan government called for bidders for 125 boats seized from Tamil Nadu fishermen between February 7 and 11. 

The CM said that the advertisement was an unfortunate development when the India-Sri Lankan Joint Working Group on Fisheries was due to meet short. He also sought the intervention of PM Modi to stop the auction process.