The Government of India filed an appeal before the Sri Lanka Supreme Court challenging the death penalty of five Indian fishermen who were charged for drug smuggling. The five persons consist of Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath and J Langlet who are residing in the State of Tamil Nadu who were arrested in 2011. The verdict was passed by the High Court of Colombo on 30th of this October. The verdict raised mass protest in Tamil Nadu especially near to Rameswaram island. There is high pressure on the Government from the political parties that includes AIADMK and DMK which are the leading parties in Tamil Nadu. They are regularly assessing the matter with the Government officials.
The spokesperson under the Ministry of External Affairs expressed his confidence that the fishermen will be released and all necessary steps have taken. Justice will not be denied, he added. One of the best advocates in Sri Lanka have been engaged the case by the Indian High Commission on the part of the five fishermen. The Government had also assured all its support to return those people according to the legal standards and executive formalities of Sri Lanka. The issue had been placed under the priority list of the Government and making effective measures to safeguard those Indians. The judgment that give death penalty to the fishermen consists of over 200 pages written in Sinhalese and legal scholars are under discussion on how these men can be brought back to India.
Moreover, the matter can be dealt only under the law of Sri Lanka and the lawyers engaged in the case are looking at the matter very seriously. The matter of the fishermen is really sensitive to India as well as Sri Lanka as the political parties are exerting stress on the Sri Lankan Government as well. They are frequently visiting the nation for the release of the people. Therefore, it is expected that the Government will take initiative to protect the fishermen and their family without hesitation. The matter will be presented before the Court immediately as reported by the authorities.