Mr Thasveer M. Salim had recently approached the Prime Minister’s Office
Visakhapatnam: A family friend of one of the four Keralites who are languishing in prison in the West African country of Togo for more than two years is desperately seeking the help of the ministry of external affairs for their release.
While the MEA had intervened and had got two other Indians involved in the same case released, the others have been left to their fate.
With no indication of any help from the MEA, Mr Thasveer M. Salim, who works with the Indian Navy at Vizag, had recently approached the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
It may be recalled that with the MEA’s intervention, in 2013, a merchant navy captain, Mr Sunil James, who had been arrested in Togo on charges of helping pirates who had attacked and looted his ship, had been released after five months in the prison.
His colleague, Mr Vijayan, had also been released along with him.
Mr Tharun Babu (Indian Passport No: K4640804), Mr Nithin Babu (Indian Passport No: G8689432), Mr Shaji Abdullakutty (Indian Passport No: G0278131) and Mr Godwin Antony (Indian Passport No. G 5577657), all from Kerala, had left for Lome in Togo in June 2013 to work with the shipping firm, Cross World Marine Services, for ship maintenance.
All four had been arrested on robbery charges by the Togo police in July of the same year and since then have been languishing in jail.
“We understand that prison conditions are deplorable. Almost 80 prisoners are packed in a 200 sq. ft room. All of them are detained in unhygienic and unhealthy conditions and they are thus suffering from chicken pox and malaria. They are also scared of Ebola, which was reported recently in West Africa. And no translators were provided to them,” Mr Thasveer told Deccan Chronicle.
