The 56 Indian fishermen, released by a Sri Lankan court in the northern Jaffna peninsula last month, will be shifted to an immigration detention centre in Colombo after completing their Covid quarantine period, prison authorities said, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Prison Superintendent and Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake told PTI that the Indian fishermen have spent the isolation period in the prison-run COVID-19 quarantine centre in Iyakkachchi in the Northern Province since their release on January 25.
“Some of them were found Covid positive, now their quarantine period has ended,” Ekanayake said, adding that they would be moved to an immigration detention center in Colombo on Monday.
A court on January 25 ordered the release of 56 Indian fishermen who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in the island nation’s territorial waters in mid-December in the seas south of Mannar.
The fishermen were arrested on two separate days. Their 10 trawlers have been seized.
The court’s order for their release came as the Indian authorities urged Sri Lanka to release them on humanitarian grounds in the backdrop of economic assistance talks that were ongoing at the time. (PTI / Colombo Gazette)
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