Indian prisoners in UAE to serve jail term in home country

The UAE and India have initiated joint action to implement a bilateral agreement on 'Transfer of Sentenced Persons,' V. Muraleedharan, the new Minister of State for External Affairs in charge of relations with the Gulf, has told the Indian Parliament.

Muraleedharan informed the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament, during its ongoing session here that India and UAE signed a mutually beneficial agreement in 2011 on Transfer of Sentenced Persons. This agreement came into force in March 2013.

"The agreement includes, inter-alia, its general principles, conditions for transfer of prisoners and obligations to furnish information, among other provisions," the Minister said in reply to a question by a Lok Sabha member, Rahul Kaswan.

The first steps to implement the agreement came in the form a proposal from the Consulate General of India in Dubai for the repatriation of 77 Indian inmates to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentences in India.

"The proposal is being processed by the authorities concerned in UAE and India in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Agreement," Muraleedharan told the House.

The agreement reduces the burden on the UAE of looking after these prisoners even as justice is served because they are incarcerated in India during their entire sentence imposed by courts in the UAE.

Two years ago, His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, announced an amnesty for 149 Indian prisoners in Sharjah, who have completed at least three years of their sentences.

The amnesty announced during Sheikh Sultan’s visit to India included only Indians serving sentences for white collar crimes. Prisoners convicted for criminal offences were excluded from this amnesty.

WAM