Fishermen held in Iran released

Manama : After anxiously waiting for their departure the Indian fishermen that ventured from Bahrain last October, have finally been released, and are expected to arrive in Bahrain today evening. 

“We have been constantly in touch with the fishermen to make sure that they are at least provided with the basic amenities and are set free as soon as possible. The Iranian officials took the fingerprint of the fishermen yesterday, and just a few hours later the fishermen were given clearance to depart via sea. We would like to thank all the Indian embassy officials in Bahrain and Iran, especially media for the support,” International fishermen Development Trust (INFIDET) founder president Justin Antony told DT News.

The Iranian authorities detained fifteen Indian fishermen, who ventured from Bahrain, for entering into their waters in October 2016. The officials handed over the release order to the fishermen at the harbour on the 14th of March 2017 when their sponsor cleared the penalty fee but still, the fishermen weren’t set free for departure. There were five fishermen in each boat.  Al Shumal (Kiruba, George, Jacob, Anto, Ravi,), Daynat Mariam (Varghese, Claudin, Sagar, Sreejith, John Kennady) and Mughalaf (Rajesh Kumar, Saleth Raja, Seenu, Vincent, Prasanth). From the day they were detained, ten fishermen who sailed in Al Shumal and Dayanat Mariam were taken under custody for five days but were later moved to their boats under strict surveillance. The other set of five who were detained after two days were not taken into custody.

Other fishermen working there provided the fishermen food and other basic amenities. Lack of proper food, drinking water, clothes and access to proper medical care were their major worries apart from the plights of their families. Their passports and mobile phones were ceased by the officials and were returned only by last month. As their worrying days finally comes to an end, the fishermen are now looking forward to unite with their family members.