Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia speaks out about protecting arrested fishermen

The Embassy explains the process of protecting Vietnamese citizens, after information that a Vietnamese fishing boat was captured by Indonesia yesterday.

Indonesia is stepping up patrols against illegal fishing. Photo: Antara

The Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia said tSince the beginning of 2016, the agency has organized to bring 16 groups with 287 fishermen back to the country, double the number in the same period in 2015. On average, every month, the Embassy completes the necessary procedures to bring three groups with about 50 fishermen back to the country.

However, since the beginning of the year, 35 Vietnamese fishing boats with more than 250 fishermen have been arrested. On average, the Embassy receives information about 7 fishing boats with 50 fishermen being newly arrested per month. In May alone, 16 fishing boats with 145 fishermen were arrested.

Indonesia yesterday reportedly detained boats from the Philippines and Vietnam on suspicion of illegal fishing, with 13 Vietnamese people on board.

In the work of protecting citizens, as soon as receiving information about a Vietnamese fishing boat being detained, the Embassy contacts the Indonesian authorities to clarify the information. In some special cases, Embassy staff directly go to the places where fishermen are detained to visit and collect information to have a basis for working with the Indonesian side.

After receiving accurate information, the Embassy will transfer the information to the Consular Department and the localities where the fishermen were arrested to coordinate the handling and verification of detailed information about the arrested fishing vessel as well as the specific identities of each fisherman on the arrested fishing vessel as a basis for issuing passports to the fishermen upon their return.

For fishermen who are returned without trial, the Embassy coordinates with the immigration authorities of the host country to complete the procedures to bring the fishermen back home.

Because it has to go through many different authorities and contact many remote locations in Indonesia where infrastructure and telecommunications are not yet developed, the processing time often takes a long time. Particularly, cases brought to court, mainly captains and ship owners, will be detained and the Embassy will carry out the procedures to send them back to their home country after their prison terms have expired.

In addition, during holidays and Tet of our country and Indonesia, the Embassy always requests the Indonesian side to reduce the sentences for our fishermen who were arrested and in many cases, the relevant Indonesian agencies have responded positively to the Embassy's requests.

According to VNE