Colombo:
Sri Lanka has reportedly released five Indians who were given the death sentence after being convicted for smuggling drugs into the country, media reported.
All five convicts are fishermen from Tamil Nadu. NDTV reports claimed, their sentence has been commuted by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and they have reportedly been handed over to Indian officials in Colombo.
The five accused -- Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath and J Langlet - were sentenced to death last month by a court in Colombo.
They were given a time period till Nov 14 to appeal at the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. The fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2011 on charges of smuggling of drugs. The Indian government had claimed that the five were innocent and challenged the conviction in Sri Lankas Supreme Court.
It has been learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had phoned President Rajapaksa about the controversy. It was reportedly agreed that the fishermen would be transferred to an Indian prison.
src:sify.com