Sri Lanka to release 5 Indian fishermen on death row

The neighbouring country has decided to release them without any conditions within two or three days. The decision comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the death sentence. The Sri Lankan government last gave death sentence to five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu in connection with an alleged drugs trafficking case. The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2011 on charges of smuggling of drugs. They were given a time period till Nov 14 to appeal at the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. The five Indians are among a group of eight people sentenced to death by the high court in Colombo. They were arrested on a boat in the seas off northern Jaffna’s Delft islet, sources said. Reacting to the punishment, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akhbaruddin earlier had tweeted: “India's High Commission in Colombo will through lawyer appeal to higher Court against judgement by lower Court on 5 Indian fishermen.” According to the Indian government, the fishermen are innocent and as a result it has been pursuing their case for the last four years with the government of Sri Lanka.