India has said it will appeal against the death penalty handed down to five Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by a Sri Lankan court on Thursday for alleged drug trafficking.

The five fishermen were apprehended in 2011 by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of smuggling of drugs and were among eight people sentenced to death by the high court in Colombo, people close to the developments in New Delhi said. The other three sentenced by high court judge Preethi Padman Surasena were Sri Lankan nationals.

However, the Indian government, which has been pursuing their case for the last four years, maintains that it has done due diligence and found them to be innocent.

In New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “India’s high commission in Colombo will appeal to higher court through a lawyer against the judgement by the lower court against these five Indian fishermen.”



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