Over 10K Indians Jailed Abroad, Half in Saudi & UAE

Over 10K Indians in Foreign Jails; Half in Saudi & UAE

New Delhi: The number of Indian prisoners, including undertrials, currently lodged in foreign jails is 10,152, the government informed Parliament on Friday, according to information available with the Ministry of External Affairs.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared country-wise data on such prisoners.

The data shared under the heading ‘Total number of Indians currently under trial and convicted in foreign jails’ includes data for 86 countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, USA, Sri Lanka, Spain, Russia, Israel, China, Bangladesh and Argentina.

The information provided in her response indicates that there are 2,518 Indian inmates in jails in the United Arab Emirates and 2,633 in Saudi Arabia. There are also 1,317 Indian inmates in Nepali jails, compared to 266 and 98 in Pakistani and Sri Lankan jails, respectively, according to the data.
“The ministry’s data shows that 10,152 Indian prisoners, including pre-trial detainees, are currently lodged in foreign jails,” Singh explained.

“After the FIFA World Cup, many Indians, especially from Kerala, were imprisoned in Qatar; is the government aware of this?” According to the data provided by the ministry, there are 611 Indian prisoners, including pre-trial detainees, in Qatari jails.

However, due to strict privacy laws, the Qatari government does not release information about prisoners unless the person concerned agrees to do so. Therefore, there are no state-wise statistics on Indian criminals,” Singh said.

“Furthermore, the government has not noticed any unusual increase in the number of Indian prisoners in Qatari jails after the World Cup,” he said. “The government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security, and well-being of Indians abroad, including those in foreign jails,” the Union Minister emphasised in his response.

According to Singh, Indian embassies and posts are on guard to guarantee the protection of Indian inmates’ rights in foreign prisons.

Indian embassies and posts are not only providing all possible consular assistance to Indians imprisoned abroad, but also helping in providing legal aid where needed. The government said that the embassies and posts also maintain a cadre of local lawyers, which is made up of a significant number of Indian community members.