Plea to secure release of 7 Tamil fishermen held in Qatar

Nagercoil: A fishermen body today appealed to the central and Tamil Nadu governments to secure the release of seven fishermen from Kanyakumari district who had been arrested by the Qatar authorities for entering into their sea zone on July 3.

President of the Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust Justin Antony, in a statement, said the fishermen, who were working for a private trawler company based in Bahrain had crossed over to Quatar sea by mistake during deep sea fishing.

The arrested had been produced before a Qatar court and remanded to custody.

The owner of the trawler had been asked to pay a fine of Rs 4.95 lakh to secure their release. The case had now been posted for August 3, he said and urged the governments to intervene and ensure their release.