Even as protests over the killing of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan navy getting intense, we keep forgetting the 30 ?odd?fishermen, mostly from Tamil Nadu were detained by Iran in 2016. The fishermen who work in countries like Bahrain and ?UAE had been arrested by Iranian navy for straying into its territorial waters.
? Fifteen fishermen who sailed in mechanised boats from Bahrain were arrested by Iran Coast Guard on October 22 last year while 15 fishermen from Dubai were detained on December 27.
Reuters
The distressed families of the fishermen arrested have been petitioning the state and the central government to intervene, but till now, no solution has come out. The family members of some of the fishermen have even approached Ministry of External Affairs and Embassy of Iran in New Delhi.?
All the fishermen were detained in their boat without food and water. They were held under strict surveillance of the armed forces. Even to attend nature's call, they were taken to the toilet one by one," said Father Churchill, General Secretary of the South Asia Fishermen Fraternity was quoted by DNA.
"Our families have given representation to the district collectors in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram. They also petitioned AIADMK and BJP leaders too. But nothing has happened. When we inquire with the embassy officials, they say we did not get any order from India. The Tamil Nadu government and the Indian government have to issue the order," the fisherman appealed.
Representational Image, Reuters
Father Churchill said Iran does not follow the custom of informing the Indian embassy if they arrest "our country's fishermen" for trespassing into their waters. "As soon as we got information of the detention. We informed the district collector through whom we inform our embassy in Teheran. In spite of this, our embassy officials are refusing to act, saying that they have not got any direction from the Centre," he said.