Sri Lankan court gives death penalty to 5 Indian fishermen

The five fishermen —Emerson, Agastas, Wilson, Prasath and Langlet — were arrested when the Sri Lankan navy intercepted their boat near northern Jaffna on November 28, 2011, after they crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line.

Hours after the verdict, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said India would appeal against the sentence in a higher court. He said India had been tracking the case since 2011 and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka had been providing legal aid to the fishermen. “We feel the fishermen are not guilty. We will follow the legal process and do our best to get them back to India,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam has written to the PMO, insisting that the five fishermen had no record of involvement in drug related activities. He said the conviction and award of death penalty was shocking. “The manner in which the entire trial was conducted and orders delayed give rise to serious doubts as to whether the fishermen received a fair trial,” he said. Panneerselvam demanded to secure the best legal counsel for the defence of the fishermen in the higher court and said any failure in ensuring justice would inflame the people of Tamil Nadu.

A senior official at the Ministry told The Indian Express that the Indian government had never expected this judgment. “Usually in such cases, the Indian consulate officials in Sri Lanka are informed and we take immediate steps for repatriation. Despite submitting background profiles of all the five and giving bona fides that they were genuine fishermen, the (Sri Lankan) authorities went ahead with the conviction, which is against the established practices between India and Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that at least 45 Indians were serving life term in Sri Lankan prisons in narcotic cases.

Condemning the verdict, MDMK leader Vaiko said the Indian government should intervene immediately to release the fishermen. DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the Indian high commission in Colombo was inactive.

“It is easy to charge fishermen in narcotic cases without evidences. The India government should have intervened and roped in the best advocates to fight the case,” he said.

Meanwhile, protesting the verdict, local villagers damaged a 300-metre rail stretch near Pamban, affecting trains connecting Rameswaram, Madurai, Chennai and other major cities in the state. Road traffic along the national highway linking Madurai and Rameswaram was affected owing to blockades. A bus was also burnt at Ramanathapuram.