Indian envoy to Lanka meets jailed fishermen, assures them of Govt. support

India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Yash Sinha on Tuesday met the five Indian fishermen who were awarded death sentences recently by the Colombo High Court, and is believed to have assured them of New Delhi making all efforts in securing their early release and repatriation to India.

According to sources, Sinha assured the fishermen of the unstinting support and cooperation of the Government of India (GoI) in ensuring their case receives utmost attention.

Last month the Colombo High Court had sentenced five Indians and three Sri Lankans to death on charges of drug smuggling. The eight accused were taken into custody for heroin drug running in 2011.

The Indian fishermen from Rameswaram - P. Emerson, P.Augustus, R.Wilson, K.Prasath, and J.Lanklet - were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in November 2011. They claim that they have been falsely implicated in the case and their lawyers have said they would file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the sentence.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam has strongly condemned the Sri Lankan court's ruling of death sentences to the fishermen.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he strongly condemned the unjust conviction.

He said the Government of Tamil Nadu has consistently insisted that these fishermen were innocent and that the case has been foisted on them and also that the evidence against the fishermen in the court is a fabrication.