External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna informed the Lok Sabha today that a number of persons of Indian origin are languishing in jails in various countries across the world. The largest number of them, 1400, are in Saudi Arabia, followed by 1239 in the UAE. In the USA, the number of Indians in jail is 427 and in the UK 426. In Nepal, 223
Indian nationals are in jail while in Kuwait the number of jailed Indians is 206. In Bangladesh, 186 Indians are languishing in jail and 121 in Italy. The Minister said some countries do not provide details of foreign prisoners in their jails because of their strict privacy laws. To a specific question, Mr. Krishna said three Indian civil prisoners and 108 Indian fishermen continue to be in jails in Pakistan even after completing their sentence. The Government of
India has repeatedly taken up with the Government of Pakistan the question of early release of Indian civil prisoners and fishermen. Due to the consistent efforts of the Government of India, an Indo-Pakistan Judiciary Committee has been set up consisting of retired judges of Superior Judiciary from both the countries for humane treatment and early release of all prisoners who have completed
their sentence, the Minister said.