Chennai: Activists demand swift release of fishers in Iran

CHENNAI: After the release of 15 Tamil fishermen from Iran on April 5, there are 40 more remaining in the custody of the Iran government on Kish Island, for allegedly straying into Iranian waters, activists say. At the end of December last year, 15 fishermen who took fishing jobs in UAE were detained in Iran. Another group of 25 fishermen, belonging to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, were detained from Bahrain in March, said Valarmathi of the National Domestic Workers’ Movement.

“We have met the Tamil Nadu fisheries minister and submitted a representation. We have also made a representation to the Indian Embassy and to Sushma Swaraj and also tweeted to her. So far there has been no response from her side. We have been in touch with the fishermen and their families,” she told Deccan Chronicle. The fishermen lack access to food, water, and shelter, she said. Denied access to even toilets, they survive on food brought in stealthily by known fishermen. They are held under the constant scrutiny of the harbour officials.

 The families, who are desperate for the men to return, are unaware if any fine needs to be paid for the fishermen’s release. The struggling families are increasingly finding it difficult to live with the detention of the fishermen who are the sole earning members of these families. “The consular first secretary is in touch with the fishermen. The Indian Embassy officials are awaiting the Court’s order on fines to be paid by the sponsors. Meanwhile, Indian Embassy officials have given some money to the group and are also helping them communicate with their families,” said Justin Antony, Founder President, International Fishermen Development Trust-INFIDET. Despite having made several rounds and submitted numerous petitions to government officials in the State, there has been no progress, said Anitha Jegan, wife of Jegan Jerome, who was among those detained in March.