الحقوق

ما يرد في هذه المدونة من معلومات وأخبار خاصة هي ملك للجميع ومن حق أي شخص نقلها، وإن تفضل وأشار إلى المصدر فهذا فضلاً منه

7.6.11

Employer of detained fishermen sough

GDN: THE Indian Embassy in Bahrain is following up a case of 35 fishermen, who reportedly entered Qatar's territorial waters by mistake, it emerged yesterday.

The Indian men had been detained in Qatar's Al Khor jail since Saturday and efforts are being made by the embassy to locate their Bahraini employers.

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"We have been informed about the case by the Indian Embassy in Qatar," said an embassy official in Bahrain.

"At the moment we are waiting for them to provide us relevant documents to track down the employer in Bahrain."

The fishermen's case was reportedly brought to light by the South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (Saff) group, who sought the intervention of the embassy in Qatar to secure their release.

Most of them reportedly hail from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district.

The fraternity group also sought the intervention of Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to reach a permanent solution to the issues facing fishermen from working in the Gulf.

"The embassy in Qatar managed to get consular access to the men in detention," said the official.

"According to the rules, the case goes to court and the Bahraini employer has to pay a certain fine to release the men."

He said the embassy in Qatar could also directly contact the Bahraini employers based on the information it receives from the fishermen.

"If this fails, then it's up to the embassy in Bahrain to locate the sponsor," said the official.

Some social workers have in the past urged the embassy in Bahrain to enforce the same law applied for recruitment of housemaids.

This means, employers have to pay certain deposit to the embassy before recruiting Indian fishermen.

This would ensure that the employer goes promptly to release the men rather than delaying the issue.

Members of the Bahrain Fishermen's Society have said that dwindling fish stock forces several fishermen to venture in the territorial waters of other countries.

The Co-ordination Committee of Indian Associations in January this year presented a letter from Muharraq-based fishermen addressed to Indian Ambassador Mohan Kumar.

The letter stated problems faced by the fishermen and measures to protect them in case they were arrested outside Bahrain's territorial waters.

The last group of Indian fishermen held by Qatar was in December 12, who was later released after their Bahraini employer paid the fines.

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