3 East Acehnese Fishermen Arrested By Thai Authorities Have Been Released

Illustration - A number of fishermen attached their boats to the old port of Lampulo village, Banda Aceh (ANTARA PHOTO/Ampelsa)

Three fishermen from East Aceh who were arrested by the Thai security forces have been released by local authorities. The three of them are in the process of returning to their homeland through the Indonesian Consulate General in Songkhla. "The three Acehnese fishermen will soon be returned to Indonesia from Songkhla Thailand," said Panglima Laot Aceh Miftach Tjut Adek in Banda Aceh, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, August 14. Panglima Laot is an Aceh traditional marine institution that oversees fishermen in Aceh. All problems related to the sea in Aceh cannot be separated from the authority of the institution. The news of the plan to repatriate Acehnese fishermen that Thailand has released was received by Panglima Laot Aceh based on the official letter of the Indonesian Consulate General in Songkhla. In the letter received, said Miftach, the three fishermen were Antoni ABK KM Kambiastar, Lukman ABK KM Rahmat Jaya, and Sabirin ABK Ikhlas Baru. "The fishermen are handlers / tekong who were arrested in October 2023," he said. He said the Acehnese fishermen were flown to Indonesia today on the route from Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia via Kualanamu Airport, Medan, North Sumatra. "Later on from Medan they will be sent home by road to their respective hometowns, for return tickets to be financed by the Aceh Government," said Miftach Tjut Adek. For information, previously, 40 fishermen from East Aceh Regency were caught by Thai authorities for entering the marine territory of the local country, Sunday (8/10/2023).

Where, as many as 12 people use the KM Rahmad Jaya 29 growthstone (GT) ship. Then from KM Ikhlas Baru 24 GT as many as 16 people, and KM Kambia Star 2 crew 25 GT. After that, they served their sentences in Thailand, and were then released at different times according to the decision of the local authorities. The three fishermen were the last crew members to be released to be repatriated to Aceh.