Keralites return home after four years in Togo jail
Synopsis
The youths reached Tongo in June 2013 after they were offered a job at a shipping company They were lodged in jail along with local prisoners infected with various diseases The prisoners were released by a presidential pardon, on account of persistent efforts of Ministry of External Affairs
Five Keralites, who were released from captivity in Togo, after being mistaken of pirates, reached home on Friday night. The youths were freed after External Affairs Ministry interfered in the issue.
Four years of prison had drained not only their energy but also the spirit to fight against the odds. Shaji, a native of Aluva, Godwin Antony from Cheranallur, Nidhin Babu and Tharun Babu from Kochi and Nivin Gopi from Thevara left for Tongo, a West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, in June 2013 after they were offered a job at Merchant Navy, a shipping company there. Their ship got stranded in Nigeria, and Togo police arrested the entire crew on charges of violating laws of international waters, on July 18.
The youths were lodged in prison along with other prisoners infected with various diseases. "We had to take vaccination every month and steroids on several occasions. Local prisoners used to occupy the limited space at congested cells, and we were made to sleep in standing position. At times we had to bribe other inmates to escape physical torture. We used the money sent by our families to bribe other inmates," they told media persons at Cochin International Airport.
The prisoners were released by a presidential pardon, on account of persistent efforts of Indian High Commission in Accra (Ghana) and Ministry of External Affairs.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Tweeted about their release.
The Ministry also facilitated travel arrangement and air tickets for the youth to return to Kochi.