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Sri Lankan court releases Indian fishermen held for poaching
Feb 18, 2011, 10:14 GMT
Colombo – A court on Friday freed 136 Indian fishermen detained for poaching in Sri Lanka's territorial waters amid increasing pressure for their early release, officials said.
The fishermen were arrested Tuesday and Wednesday and their 25 vessels seized off the northern coast of Sri Lanka. They were initially remanded into custody by a local court for two weeks.
'The fishermen have now been released, and they will be officially handed over to the Indian Coast Guard by the Sri Lanka Navy on Friday evening,' a navy spokesman, Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya, said.
Court officials did not give reasons for the early release of the fishermen, but a series of diplomatic moves had been under way by India after protests in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Last month, the Sri Lanka Navy was accused of firing at Indian fishermen and killing one in the Palk Strait, which divides India and Sri Lanka.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao visited Colombo in January to discuss the shooting.
Sri Lanka has complained that Indian fisherman frequently trespass into its waters but denied that its navy ever shot any of them.
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