National Fish Workers Forum has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene immediately for the release of 16 fishermen of Tamil Nadu who were in prison in Iran since December last year.
General Secretary of the NFWF M. Ilango in a letter to Singh said that the fishermen from Ramanathapuram, Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu had left for Saudi Arabia to work as contract labourers in a fishing company. When they were fishing in Saudi Arabian sea in December last year, they got into the Iranian maritime territory.
The Iranian law enforcement authority had arrested and sentenced them to six months imprisonment.
Ilango said that the fishermen had no legal assistance from Indian Embassy in Iran and no efforts were also made to get them released. Though they have completed the imprisonment term they have not been able to pay the penalty imposed on them.
He also requested Singh to provide financial assistance to the families.