Centre tells Lok Sabha: 10,574 Indians in foreign jails, 27 TN fishermen in Sri Lankan custody
On Indians facing capital punishment abroad, the Ministry of External Affairs said 43 nationals are currently on death row in 11 countries, including 21 in the UAE.
Representative image
CHENNAI: The Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that 10,574 Indian citizens are currently imprisoned abroad, including undertrials and convicts. The data was provided in response to questions raised by MPs V K Sreekandan, Kodikunnil Suresh, Thanga Tamilselvan, and Ganapathy Rajkumar P.
As of July 15 this year, 28 Indian fishermen, 27 from Tamil Nadu and one from Puducherry, remain in Sri Lankan custody.
Over the past three years (2022 to 2024), a total of 975 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy and 136 boats confiscated. During the same period, 1,046 Indian fishermen and 17 boats were released by Sri Lanka.
The government said it is actively pursuing their release through diplomatic channels, citing the April 5, 2025 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sri Lankan President. The issue, it said, is being raised on humanitarian and livelihood grounds.
Fishermen-related issues are also being handled through bilateral mechanisms like the Joint Working Group on fisheries, which includes Tamil Nadu officials. The last meeting was on October 29, 2024. Additionally, Indian consular officials conduct routine visits to jails and detention centres in Sri Lanka to check on the well-being of detained Indian fishermen, the government said.
43 Indians on death row abroad; most Indian inates in UAE
On Indians facing capital punishment abroad, the Ministry of External Affairs said 43 nationals are currently on death row in 11 countries, including 21 in the UAE, 7 in Saudi Arabia, 4 in China, 3 in Indonesia, and one each in countries such as the USA, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Yemen.
The top six countries with the highest number of Indian undertrials and convicts are:
UAE – 2,773
Saudi Arabia – 2,379
Qatar – 795
Malaysia – 380
Kuwait – 342
United Kingdom – 323
The Ministry said Indian missions provide consular access, legal aid, and welfare support to imprisoned nationals, including under the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).