- DAMMAM: The Association of Fishermen in the Eastern Province has asked the Saudi sponsors of 28 Indian fishermen detained in Qatar for illegally entering its waters in August for an urgent meeting to discuss the two-year prison sentences handed to the men and the fines of 5,000 Qatari riyals imposed for each of the six Saudi fishing boats that the men were in.
The society has also called for those involved to appeal the verdict and have the fishermen and their boats freed. It has called for the support of the owners of the boats and the fishermen’s sponsors.
The owners of the six boats said the ruling issued by the Qatari court is not commensurate with what the fishermen did when they strayed into Qatari waters by mistake. “The fishermen have legal papers and licenses from the Department for Fisheries and the Border Guards to fish in the sea. The detention of the fishermen since August has caused us huge financial losses and led to us missing the fishing season," a representative of the owners said.
He denied that the fishermen entered Qatari waters deliberately and hoped they would win the appeal as they have compiled all legal documents.
Some fishermen told Arab News that they are sometimes forced to enter the territorial waters of neighboring countries in order to bypass areas where entry is restricted because of security reasons and areas in the control of Saudi Aramco, which is carrying out operations in the Arabian Gulf.
There are over a thousand fishing boats in the Eastern Province. Last year, 40 fishermen were detained by the Qatari authorities but were freed after fines were paid.
