4 Acehnese Fishermen From Thailand Undergo Quarantine At Wisma Atlet

BANDA ACEH - Four fishermen from Aceh who recently returned from Thailand are undergoing COVID-19 quarantine at Wisma Atlet Pademangan, Jakarta. Later, after the quarantine, these fishermen will be sent back to Aceh.

"They will first be quarantined for the next few days for health checks, because they are still in the COVID-19 pandemic," said Head of the Aceh Government Liaison Agency (BPPA) Almuniza, quoted by Antara, Friday, September 10.

Almuniza said, just like the previous Acehnese fishermen, everyone who was returned from abroad had to undergo an examination or do a swab test.

"If the results are negative, then they are only allowed to return to Aceh. However, if one of them is positive, they will automatically be isolated immediately," he said.

The four fishermen are M Hidayatullah (17), Muliadi (18), Muslim Maulana (18) and Jamian (17).

While in Jakarta, said Almuniza, the fishermen were under the supervision of the BPPA team. So, if they need something it will be easy to help.

"This is in accordance with what was mandated by the Governor of Aceh Nova Iriansyah. So if they need help with something, they can directly contact us (BPPA)," he continued.

Almuniza said the Aceh Provincial Government would like to thank the Indonesian Consulate (KRI) Songkhla, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Directorate for the Protection of Indonesian Citizens and BHI, and other elements who have helped take care of the repatriation of the Acehnese fishermen.

The four fishermen are part of 32 Indonesian fishermen from Aceh who were arrested by Thai security forces in the waters between Yai Island and Phuket Island, off the coast of Phang Ngah, on April 9, 2021.

The fishermen are crew members of the ship (ABK) KM Rizki Laot measuring 60 gross tonnage (GT) originating from the Nusantara Fisheries Port (PPN) Idi, East Aceh Regency. They were arrested because they had entered the maritime territorial boundaries of Thailand.

There were actually 32 fishermen on the ship KM Rizki Laot who were arrested and underwent a legal process. However, because four of them were minors, they were released and deported to Indonesia.

While 28 other adult fishermen were found guilty at a virtual trial August 4, 2021, the judge ruled that they had violated the Commercial Fisheries, Employment and Immigration Law. So they have to go through the legal process of the country.