Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has urged the Centre to seek the release of five fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested by the Iranian authorities.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she highlighted the plight of the fshermen who were arrested by the Iranian Coast Guard. “They were engaged in fishing in the Kingdom on Saudi Arabia on contract basis under the sponsorship of a Saudi national, Ali Zhurohi,” she said.

The fishermen from Kanyakumari ventured in a mechanical fishing boat from Qatif fishing base of Saudi Arabia on April 23, 2016.

Stating that they inadvertently strayed into the Iranian waters and were arrested by the Iranian Coast Guard on April 24, the Chief Minister said”the five fishermen are lodged in Central jail, Dehloran, Iran.”
Jayalalithaa urged the Prime Minister to instruct the Indian Embassy officials in Tehran and Saudi Arabia to take “effective steps to secure the immediate release of these poor innocent fishermen.”