Lagatar24 Desk
Colombo, Feb 7: The 56 Indian fishermen who were released by a Sri Lankan court in the northern Jaffna peninsula last month will be transferred to an immigration detention centre on Monday after finishing their Covid quarantine period, according to jail officials.
Since their release on January 25, the Indian fishermen have spent their isolation period in the jail-run Covid-19 quarantine centre in Iyakkachchi in the Northern region, according to prison superintendent and spokesman Chandana Ekanayake.
“Some of them were found Covid positive, now their quarantine period has ended,” Ekanayake said. He added that they would be moved to an immigration detention centre in Colombo on Monday.
On January 25, a court ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy in mid-December in the seas south of Mannar for allegedly fishing in the island nation’s territorial waters.
During Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris’ visit to India, the contentious fishermen issue is anticipated to come up. On Sunday, he arrived in New Delhi for negotiations.
On two consecutive days, the fishermen were apprehended. Their ten trawlers have been taken into custody.
The court’s decision came as Indian authorities pressed Sri Lanka to release them on humanitarian grounds as part of ongoing economic aid talks.
Last month, India offered an economic aid package for Sri Lanka to assist its southern neighbour in dealing with its greatest foreign exchange crisis.
Meanwhile, sources in the northern fisheries department have confirmed that the 21 Indian fishermen detained on February 1 will appear at the Point Pedro magistrate court later on Monday.
Following a tip from a local fisherman, the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 21 Indians and two fishing trawlers. Fishermen’s issues continue to be a source of friction in India-Sri Lanka relations.
There have been multiple reports of Sri Lankan Navy forces firing on Indian fishermen and seizing their boats in the Palk Strait. For fishermen from both countries, the Palk Strait, a thin stretch of water separating Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, is a fertile fishing field.
The subject of fisherman came up in last month’s talks between Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about economic aid.
