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Iran releases 15 Indian fishermen

by India Blooms News Service 02 Apr 2017, 10:18 pm

New Delhi, Apr 3 (IBNS) : Iran has released 15 Tamil Nadu fishermen nearly five-and-a-half months after they were captured after straying into the central Asian country's waters, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.

"I am happy to inform that Iran has released our 15 fishermen from Tamil Nadu. They were detained with their 3 Bahraini boats," Swaraj said in a tweet.

The  fishermen working in Bahrain were held on October 22 last year when they were on their way from Bahrain to Sharjah.

Twentytwo other fishermen are still being held in Iran. They were arrested between  August 2016 and January 2017.

Last month, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva had raised in Rajya Sabha the issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen languishing in Iranian prisons.