(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) At least 106 Indian nationals are serving jail terms in the sultanate, according to Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Ravi while addressing the upper house of the Indian Parliament last month had said, ''Around 3,500 Indians are lodged in different jails in Gulf countries for various crimes like violation of visa rules, overstay, illegal entry, non-possession of valid travel documents and others.''
While 1,025 Indians are lodged in prisons in the UAE, 568 are lodged in Saudi Arabia.
''Around 250 Indians are lodged in Kuwaiti jails while 106 are there in Oman. Qatar and Bahrain have around 72 and 76 Indians in their jails respectively.''
Speaking on the matter, a senior official in the Indian Embassy said, ''The embassy extends legal help to those who are facing trial. Their cases are handled by the community welfare department of the embassy. There is nothing much the mission can do in the case of those who have already been convicted in various cases.''
The official said that the embassy receives petitions from relatives and kins of those convicted for review of court orders.
''The embassy forwards their cases to the Omani government with recommendations. However, it is up to the government to take a call on the plea of relatives.''
MK Prasad, who is on the panel of Indian Embassy's legal council, said that family members of most of those who are serving jail terms or facing trials are not in Oman.
''There should be a prisoners' exchange programme between Oman and India. Oman is known for its forward-looking policies and considering the Indian population in the country, this programme can help prisoners to serve their jail terms in In
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