Foreign Walls, Familiar Faces: The Human Cost of Indians Jailed Abroad

Why in News?

• Over 9,500 Indians are incarcerated overseas at this time, making their country the one with the largest citizen diaspora worldwide.
• In the Middle East, three out of every five people are incarcerated, with Qatar housing the third-highest number of prisoners in the area.

Where Are Indians Mostly Incarcerated?

• Total Number of Indians Imprisoned Abroad:
  • Of the 210 nations where Indians live abroad, 89 have jails. That amounts to 9,521 Indians.
• Middle East:
  • Asia comes in second with over 62% of all lodgings.
    2,200 Indian convicts are housed in Saudi Arabia, with the United Arab Emirates following closely behind.
  • Following India with 752 inmates are Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.
• Asia:
  • Nepal is home to little more than 23% of the region’s 1,227 prisoners.
  • Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Singapore, Bhutan, and Bangladesh are the next countries in line.
• Europe:
  The United Kingdom (278) is home to the bulk of Indian convicts in Europe, followed by Italy, Germany, France, and Spain.

What Happens When an Indian is Imprisoned Abroad?

• Monitor:
  • In accordance with the MEA’s Standard Operating Procedure, Indian Missions and Posts overseas keep a careful eye on instances in which Indian nationals are detained on suspicion of breaking local laws.
  • The Mission or Post contacts the local Foreign Office and other local authorities as soon as it receives information regarding the arrest or imprisonment of an Indian national in order to obtain consular access to those people.
• Ensure Welfare and Consular Assistance:
  Next, MEA officials gather information about the case, verify the individuals’ Indian nationality, and take various steps to ensure their welfare, including contacting local law enforcement agencies to expedite the completion of court proceedings, offering all possible consular assistance, and helping to provide legal aid when necessary.

What are the Government Steps to Provide Assistance to the Prisoners Abroad?

• Legal Assistance:
  • In nations where there is a substantial Indian population, Indian Missions and Posts maintain a local panel of attorneys.
  • The Embassy does not charge for the services it provides.
  • Indian people living abroad who are in need of assistance can apply to the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), which is established at missions and posts worldwide.
  • In addition to providing financial help for legal aid, the ICWF also provides travel paperwork and airline tickets for the repatriation process.
• Repatriation of Indian people:
  • During consular and other discussions with other nations, the government keeps track of the release and repatriation of Indian people incarcerated abroad.
• Pardon and Sentence Reduction:
  • Pardons and sentence reductions are occasionally given to prisoners of different nationalities by some countries, but the information is kept confidential.
  • Because of the Indian government’s efforts through various channels, foreign governments have pardoned or reduced the sentences of 4,597 Indian nationals since 2014.
• Agreement(s) on Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TSP):
  • India has signed Agreement(s) on TSP with 31 nations, allowing Indian inmates detained abroad to serve out the balance of their sentences in India and vice versa.
  • Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Qatar, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are a few of them.
• The Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad and the Council of Europe Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons are two multilateral conventions on the transfer of sentenced individuals that India has signed.
• Under these conventions, sentenced individuals of member states and other nations that have acceded to them may request the transfer of prisoners.
• 86 convicts were moved under the TSP between January 2006 and January 2022; these included 11 international prisoners who were sent to their respective countries and 75 Indian prisoners who were imprisoned and sent to India.

FAQs

Q1: How many Indians are in Qatar jail?Ans: The highest number of Indian prisoners — 2,200 — are lodged in Saudi Arabia, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 2,143. Qatar has 752 Indian prisoners, Kuwait 410, Bahrain 310 and Oman 135.Q2: Which nation has the safest prisons?
Ans : Inmates in Norway forfeit their freedom, but not their humanity or dignity. Norway has one of the lowest crime rates and the lowest recidivism rates in the world, demonstrating the clear success of the strategy.