Over 7,000 indian prisoners lodged in foreign jails

Maximum Indian prisoners are lodged in  Gulf countries. As per information a total of 7,139 Indian prisoners, including undertrials, are lodged in various jails around the world till December 31, 2020.Saudi Arabia has the highest number of 1,599 Indian prisoners, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 898 and 536 are lodged in Kuwaiti prisons.According to ministry of external affairs 548 Indians are languishing in jails in Malaysia and Nepal having 886 inmates.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan  on Thursday told in Rajya Sabha.that due to strong privacy laws prevailing in many countries, the local authorities do not share information on prisoners unless the person concerned consents to the disclosure of such details."Even countries which share information do not generally provide detailed information about the foreign nationals imprisoned," he said. Muraleedharan said Indian missions and posts abroad remain vigilant and closely monitor incidents of Indian nationals being put in jail for alleged violation of local laws. Missions and posts also maintain a local panel of lawyers where Indian community is in sizable numbers,he added.