DOHA: A group of 22 Bahrain-based Indian fishermen who had strayed into Qatari waters in their boats earlier this month have been sent back to Manama, the Indian embassy here said yesterday.
A court held a speedy trial of the fishermen and sentenced them to 15 days in custody and fined them QR5,000 each for committing the offense. The captain was fined QR7,000.
The Bahraini sponsors of the fishermen were contacted by the embassy here and they paid the fines on behalf of the convicts, Indian ambassador, Sanjiv Arora, said.
The hearings took place on October 18 and 22. In the first hearing 10 fishermen stood trial, while in the second the remaining 12 were present.
The fishermen were rounded up by the Qatari coast guard on October 7 and the court, while issuing its verdict, said that the duration of their custody was to be counted from the day they were arrested. The Peninsula
