March 11, 2026 02:40 am (IST)
TN fishermen announces strike in protest against death sentence to 5 Indians in Lanka
Chennai, Oct 31 (IBNS): Tamil Nadu fishermen on Friday announced an indefinite strike to protest against the Sri Lankan court's death sentence to five Indian fishermen, media reports said.
The protesting fishermen want the Centre to ensure the release of the five Indians.
Fishermen associations reportedly said that the men were framed by the Lanka government.
The state government has also said that it will appeal against the punishment awarded to the fishermen in Sri Lanka's apex court.
According to reports, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Paneerselvam has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the government to take action for the release of the five fishermen.
The Sri Lankan government on Thursday 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, media reports said.
They have been 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.
Reacting to the punishment, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akhbaruddin earlier 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.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
As Iran-US war disrupts global gas supply, India issues guidelines to manage shortages
Tue, Mar 10 2026
Mumbai dentistry student dies by suicide, note alleges mental harassment by boyfriend
Tue, Mar 10 2026
Kolkata: Mamata calls off dharna against SIR after five days, says ‘fight for justice’ will continue
Tue, Mar 10 2026
US: Dance video at WWII Memorial sparks outrage, Indian-origin man may face deportation
Tue, Mar 10 2026
'Most effective answer': Supreme Court says Uniform Civil Code key to ensuring equal rights for women
Tue, Mar 10 2026
Iran war disrupts LPG supplies, restaurants in major Indian cities edge towards shutdown
Tue, Mar 10 2026
‘How dare you question judicial officers?’: SC raps Bengal SIR pleas, orders appellate tribunals for voter list appeals
Tue, Mar 10 2026
