Chief Minister Writes to Union Minister Seeking Release of Fishermen Held by Sri Lanka

PRESS RELEASE Letter from Hon'ble Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. C. Joseph Vijay to Hon'ble Union Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, urging that all diplomatic channels necessary to secure the release of the Tamil Nadu fishermen detained by the Sri Lankan Navy and to retrieve their fishing boats be pursued I wish to draw your attention to the arrest of six fishermen from the Mandapam area of Ramanathapuram District by the Sri Lankan Navy today (12.05.2026). Six fishermen — Tvl. Alex, Anthoni Rajan, Santhana Alocias, Arul They Britto, Albert and Sahaya Selvashanu — belonging to the Mandapam area of Ramanathapuram District, went to sea on 10.05.2026 in a country boat for fishing. The Sri Lankan Navy arrested them today, alleging that they had crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line. I also wish to bring to your attention that 54 fishermen are already imprisoned in Sri Lanka, and 264 boats have been impounded by Sri Lankan authorities. I therefore kindly request you to take up this matter with the Sri Lankan authorities and, through appropriate diplomatic channels, secure the immediate release of the Tamil Nadu fishermen and their boats. [Text of the D.O. Letter of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru C. Joseph Vijay, addressed to the Hon'ble Union Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar, requesting that all available diplomatic channels be utilised to secure the early release and safe repatriation of all detained fishermen and their fishing boats: I wish to draw your attention to the arrest of six fishermen belonging to Mandapam in Ramanathapuram District by the Sri Lankan Navy today (12.05.2026). The fishermen ventured for fishing on 10.05.2026 from Mandapam in Ramanathapuram District and were arrested along with their fishing boat for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The six fishermen are Tvl. Alex, Anthoni Rajan, Santhana Alocias, Arul They Britto, Albert and Sahaya Selvashanu. It is also brought to your notice that 54 fishermen are already in Sri Lankan prison and 264 boats have been impounded by the Sri Lankan authorities. In this regard, I request you to take up the matter with the Sri Lankan authorities through appropriate diplomatic channels to secure the release of the detained fishermen and their boats at the earliest.] •••••• Issued By: Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Chennai-9