Q. 461 Indian Nationals In Pakistani Jails

Type:

Annual Reports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 461
ANSWERED ON 27.02.2013

Shri ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether a number of persons of Indian origin are languishing in jails in various countries, including Pakistan, across the world;

(b) if so, the details, thereof, country-wise;

(c) the number of Indians who died while in foreign prisons along with the details of those who are languishing in jails even after completing their sentence;

(d) whether the Government has taken up the matter with the respective countries to secure the release of such prisoners including Sarabjit Singh; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS) (SHRI E. AHAMED)

(a) & (b) As per records available, there are about 6569 (this figure keeps changing) Indian prisoners lodged in foreign jails for crimes like violation of immigration/visa rules, overstay, illegal entry, robbery, non-possession of valid travel document, valid visa/permit, etc. However, some Indians have also been jailed for grave offences like drug trafficking, murder, rape, etc. A list of Indian citizens in foreign jails, country-wise, is attached as Annexure I.

(d) & (e) Indian Missions/Posts abroad always strive to respond promptly to the requests/appeals by Indian citizens who are in distress. As soon as the information about detention/arrest of an Indian national is received by the Indian Mission/Post, it immediately gets in touch with the local Foreign Office and other concerned local authorities to get consular access to the detained/arrested Indian national to confirm his Indian nationality and ensure his welfare.

In some countries where pro bono lawyers are available, the Mission arranges such legal assistance to the Indian prisoners.

Our Mission makes all possible efforts with the foreign government to provide necessary assistance to Indians imprisoned in foreign jails, which include requesting the local authorities for speedy trials, seeking remission of sentence, providing advice and guidance in legal and other matters, ensuring fair and humane treatment in foreign jails, issue of emergency certificates and repatriation to India of those who are released. In some countries, our Mission also requests the local government for grant of amnesty to the arrested Indians and if any mercy petition for remission of sentences is received from the family members of the Indian prisoners, the Mission forwards them to the local authorities for consideration.

http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/psearch/QResult15.aspx?qref=135351.

ANNEXURE-I

Ministry of External Affairs

(Consular Section)

No.T.125/2/2013

S.No.	Name of Country	No. of Indian Nationals in foreign jail	Offences/ Allegation
1	Afghanistan	28	Fake Afghan Visa, carrying illegal alcohol, indulging in prostitution etc.
2	Algeria	Nil Report	Nil Report
3	Angola	1	Information not available
4	Argentina, Praguay, Uruguay	2	Do
5	Armenia, Georgia	5	Fraud, Cheating, illegal entry/stay, etc.
6	Austria	Nil Report	Nil Report
7	Australia	18	Holding forged driving licences, Cultivating large commercial quantity of cannabis, Murder, etc.
8	Azerbaijan	1	Murder
9	Bahrain	62	Information not available
10	Belarus	25	Human trafficking & illegal entry/stay, etc.
11	Bangladesh	167	Drug trafficking,illegal entry, holding illegal & forged passport,etc
12	Belgium, Luxembourg	45	Information not available
13	Bhutan	59	Do
14	Botswana	Nil Report	Nil Report
15	Brazil	Nil Report	Do
16	Brunei	2	Information not available
17	Bulgaria, Macedonia	Nil Report	Nil Report
18	Cambodia	1	Drug trafficking
19	Canada	19	Information not available
20	Chile	Nil Report	Nil Report
21	China	157	Drug & Human trafficking, illegal entry/ stay, Robbery,Forgery, etc.
22	Cote d’Ivore, Liberia, Guinea & Sierra Leone	Nil Report	Nil Report
23	Croatia	Do	Do
24	Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti	1	Drug Trafficking.
25	Cyprus	2	Forgery, Theft.
26	Czech Republic	Nil Report	Nil Report
27	Egypt	2	Drug Trafficking.
28	Ethiopia, Djibouti	2	Information not available
29	Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu & Cook Islands	2	Human & Drug trafficking.
30	Finland, Estonia	1	Information not available
31	France, Monaco	25	Do
32	Germany	3	Rape case, illegal stay.
33	Ghana, Burkino Faso, Togo, Niger	1	Embezzlement of funds.
34	Greece	20	Information not available
35	Guatemala	Nil Report	Nil Report
36	Guyana, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis	Do	Do
37	Hungary, Bosnia & Herzegovina	Do	Do
38	Iceland	Do	Do
39	Indonesia, Timor Leste, East Timor	2	Violation of local health regulations.
40	Iran	6	illegal Entry, Drug trafficking.
41	Iraq	6	Information not available
42	Ireland	2	Rape case
43	Israel	10	Overstay, Murder, etc.
44	Italy, San Marino	121	Information not available
45	Jamaica, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands	Nil Report	Nil Report
46	Japan	3	Drug trafficking, Robbery, Murder.
47	Jordan	38	Information not available
48	Kazakhstan	Nil Report	Nil Report
49	Kenya, Eritrea, Somalia	Do	Do
50	Korea (DPR)	Do	Do
51	Korea (Republic of)	1	Information not available
52	Kuwait	1161	Rape, Robbery, Drug trafficking,Murder etc.
53	Kyrgyzstan	Nil Report	Nil Report
54	Lao PDR	Do	Do
55	Lebanon	9	Information not available
56	Libya, Malta	Nil Report	Nil Report
57	Madagascar, Comoros	1	Unauthorized trading of gold
58	Malaysia	187	Drug trafficking, Kidnapping, illegal entry, etc.
59	Mali	Nil Report	Nil Report
60	Mauritius	9	Information not available
61	Mexico	Nil Report	Nil Report
62	Morocco	Do	Do
63	Mozambique, Swaziland	Do	Do
64	Myanmar	20	Drug trafficking, illegal entry, etc.
65	Namibia	Nil Report	Nil Report
66	Nepal	377	Kidnapping,illegal arms, theft, illegal drugs, etc.
67	Netherlands	Nil Report	Nil Report
68	New Zealand, Samoa, Nauru, Kiribati	10	Theft, Rape and Drunk-driving, etc.
69	Niger	Nil Report	Nil Report
70	Nigeria, Benin, Chad, Cameroon	Do	Do
71	Norway	2	Information not available
72	Oman	82	Human trafficking, illegal Alcohol sale, forgery of documents,Theft, Murder, etc.
73	Pakistan	254	Civil Prisoners and a large number of Fishermen
74	Palestine	Nil Report	Nil Report
75	Panama, El Salvador, Hondurus, Nicaragua	7	illegal Entry
76	Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu & Solomon Islands	Nil Report	Nil Report
77	Peru, Bolivia	Do	Do
78	Philippines, Palau, Marshall Islands, Micronesia	19	Financial cheating,Kidnapping, Rape, Robbery, Murder, etc.
79	Poland, Lithuania	Nil Report	Nil Report
80	Portugal	1	Information not available
81	Qatar	Nil Report	Nil Report
82	Russian Federation	2	Smuggling of drugs, Rape
83	Saudi Arabia	1691	Fake Iqamas, Immoral relationships, Traffic Accident, Sale of liquor, Drug trafficking etc.
84	Serbia, Montenegro	Nil Report	Nil Report
85	Seychelles	1	Drug Trafficking.
86	Singapore	156	Murder, illegal entry, robbery,Theft, Drugs offences, etc.
87	Slovak Republic,	Nil Report	Nil Report
88	Slovenia Republic	Do	Do
89	South Africa, Lesotho	15	Drug trafficking, illegal entry, theft etc.
90	Sri Lanka	63	Drug trafficking, Robbery, Violation of local immigration law, Murder, etc.
91	Sudan	Nil Report	Nil Report
92	Sweden, Latvia	1	Murder
93	Switzerland, Holy See and Liechtenstein	Nil Report	Nil Report
94	Syria	Do	Do
95	Tajikistan	Do	Do
96	Tanzania	1	Information not available
97	Thailand	56	Drug trafficking, Fraud, Fake Passport and Visa, illegal entry,Murder, etc.
98	Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, Dominica, Moneserra	Nil Report	Nil Report
99	Tunisia	Do	Do
100	Turkey	Do	Do
101	Turkmenistan	Do	Do
102	Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda	2	Cheating, Murder
103	U.A.E.	1012	Information not available
104	UK	426	Do
105	Ukraine	1	Do
106	U.S.A	155	illegal Entry/stay, etc.,
107	Uzbekistan	Nil Report	Nil Report
108	Venezuela, Aruba, Caracao, St. Maarten	Do	Do
109	Vietnam	1	Drug trafficking.
110	Yemen	1	Information not available
111	Zimbabwe	4	Information not available
112	Malawi	2	Civil Case, Murder case.
	Total	6569

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Q. 461 Indian Nationals In Pakistani Jails

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