Manama: A group of 19 Indian fishermen based in Saudi Arabia, initially sentenced to two-years by a Qatari court for illegally entering Qatar's waters, have been released and are now back in their host country.
"We had taken up the matter with all the relevant authorities and conveyed our feeling that the punishment was harsh," Indian ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa said after the monthly community meeting in Doha, Gulf Times reported on Sunday.
The sponsor of the fishermen paid a fine of QR2,000 for each of them, after the appeals court waived the prison term.
Five other Indian fishermen from Bahrain, also arrested for straying into Qatar's territory, were released recently, said Sanjiv Kohli, the embassy minister.
"We thank the Qatari authorities for their understanding," the ambassador said while explaining that the embassy has taken up this issue with the ministry concerned in India.
Indian embassies in Qatar's neighbouring countries have been requested to alert fishermen that Doha has very strict regulations regarding intrusion into their territorial waters.
In October, 28 Indian fishermen from Saudi Arabia were sentenced by the lower court for infiltrating into Qatari waters in August.
Anil Nautiyal, India's embassy second secretary, said that 143 Indians, including 21 women, were in the deportation centre, and that 45 Indians, including four women, were in prisons in Qatar.
"We conduct regular visits to these facilities, with personnel from the Indian Community Benevolent Fund (ICBF), and have daily interactions with the officials," Nautiyal said.
The Indian ambassador said that the turnaround time at the deportation centre has come down and cases are being cleared faster.
