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Tamil fishermen released by Sri Lankan Navy claim torture, head shaving

A group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, were released and returned home. However, their families were shocked to find that their heads had been forcibly shaved.
On August 27, eight fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the maritime border while fishing. Their boat was also seized.
The court, which heard the case on September 5, ordered the release of five fishermen upon payment of a fine of Rs 50,000 in Sri Lankan currency, while three others were sentenced to six months in prison, as they had been arrested for a second time.
The families of the five fishermen borrowed money to pay the fine and secured their release on September 7. When the fishermen returned home, their families were horrified to see that their heads had been shaved. The released fishermen reported that they were handcuffed, had their heads forcibly shaved, and were subjected to torture because the fine had not been paid by September 6.
Raja, one of the fishermen, said, “We were taken by force, and our heads were shaved. They told us we had been sentenced to four months in jail and made us clean the jail area.”
“They were furious when they realized we were Indian. We are not criminals; we were just fishing to earn a living. They forced us to clean the jail and drainage for three days,” Kingson, another fisherman, recounted.

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