Panglima Laot: 17 Acehnese Fishermen Still Detained By Thai Authorities

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN/ILLUSTRATION

BANDA ACEH - The Panglima Laot Aceh Institute said that to this day 17 Acehnese fishermen are still being detained by Thai authorities for sailing past the country's maritime territorial boundaries.

"There are still our fishermen detained abroad, there are 17 more in Thailand," said Deputy Secretary General of Panglima Laot Aceh, Miftach Tjut Adek, in Banda Aceh, as reported by Antara, Monday, June 20.

Miftach said the 17 fishermen still being detained in Thailand were from Idi, East Aceh Regency, they were caught on January 28, 2022 by the local navy.

The East Aceh fisherman was caught by the Thai navy in the waters west of Phuket about 38.5 NM from the coast for fishing in the waters of the white elephant country.

Initially, there were 19 of them when they were arrested, including two underage fishermen. However, both of them were repatriated to their homeland on Saturday, May 28, 2022.

"That's right, two underage fishermen have been sent home, both from East Aceh," he said.

Based on the information received, said Miftach, the 17 fishermen will either finish serving their sentences or be released by the Thai authorities until the end of this year.

Of the 17 people, five people will be repatriated in August 2022, they are faster because they use small boats or accompanying large ships.

"The latest information is that five people were repatriated in August, 12 more were released around October or November 2022," said Miftach Tjut Adek.