Plea in HC Seeking Release of Convict

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court, seeking the release of a convict who was transferred from a jail in Sri Lanka to India, as per a bilateral agreement between the two countries on exchange of convicts.

Patani Asharaf, a native of Ponnani in  the Malappuram district, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Sri Lankan court for trafficking narcotics. He was imprisoned in a jail in Sri Lanka for 13.5 years. He was brought to India in 2013, after an agreement for the exchange of sentenced citizens was signed between India and Sri Lanka, and has been housed in the Viyyur central jail.

The petitioner said that Asharaf had completed 14.5  years of imprisonment. “The government has not paid attention to the very objective of the treaty - ‘rehabilitate sentenced persons in their home countries,” the petitioner submitted. It is also stated in the petition that the convict who was recruited by a Sri Lankan employer, had fallen prey to drug traffickers. The petitioner argued that Asharaf was entitled to be released in view of the bilateral agreement. (New Indian Express)