On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that over 8,300 Indian prisoners, including those under trial, are lodged in foreign prisons, with the maximum number of inmates locked up in Gulf countries.
Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan provided the information in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
Maximum Prisoners in Gulf Countries
The minister said that government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indians in foreign countries, including those in foreign jails.
As per the information available with the MEA, the number of Indian prisoners, including undertrials, in foreign prisons currently is 8,330 in 90 countries.
Gulf countries account for over half of these numbers, with the highest number being in the UAE (1,611 Indian prisoners). This is followed Saudi Arabia, which has 1,461 Indian prisoners.
However, Nepal occupies the third place, with 1,222 Indian prisoners incarcerated or undertrial.
Among other Gulf nations, 696 Indian prisoners are in Qatar, 446 in Kuwait, 277 in Bahrain, and 139 in Oman. These countries form the largest chunk of Indian prisoners abroad.
For India’s neighbours, the numbers stand at 308 for Pakistan, 178 for China, 60 for Bangladesh, and 20 for Sri Lanka.
Consular Access, Transfer Agreements
The MEA said that Missions and Posts assist Indians imprisoned abroad by providing consular access and legal aid wherever needed.
The Ministry further informed that the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) has been set up in Indian Missions and Posts abroad to help the prisoners.
It highlighted that the issue of release and repatriation of Indian nationals in foreign prisons is regularly pursued by Indian Missions and Posts abroad with the local authorities concerned.
Additionally, the Ministry informed that India has signed the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons with 31 countries.
India has also signed the Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad and the Council of Europe Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which enable the transfer of prisoners to their native countries to serve the remainder of their sentence.
Indian Fishermen in Pakistan, Sri Lanka
In response to another question concerning Indian fishermen and prisoners in Pakistani jails, Muraleedharan said the 2008 India-Pakistan Agreement on Consular Access mandates the two nations to share a list of civilian prisoners and fishermen lodged in jails on 1 January and 1 July every year.
According to the latest list, 343 civilian prisoners and 74 fishermen from Pakistan are in Indian jails. In comparison, 266 fishermen and 42 civilian prisoners from India are in Pakistani jails.
In response to a question on Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka, the MEA informed that 74 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan government this year. However, all of them have been released.