Back home from 9 months of harrowing life in Iranian jail

September 19, 2013 04:50 am | Updated June 02, 2016 01:16 pm IST - Malappuram

CHERISH THE MOMENT: Mohammed Kasim greets his mother on his arrival at the Karipur airport on Wednesday after spending nine months in an Iran jail.

CHERISH THE MOMENT: Mohammed Kasim greets his mother on his arrival at the Karipur airport on Wednesday after spending nine months in an Iran jail.

The Calicut international airport at Karipur witnessed scenes of an emotional reunion on Wednesday afternoon when three Malayali fishermen returned home after spending nine months in an Iranian jail with bare minimum facilities.

For Abdulla Koya, Mohammed Kasim, and Kuttiyammuvinte Purakkal Koya, the homecoming was dreamlike. “Alhamdu Lillah (Thank God). We never expected that we would be able to make it,” they said when received by Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb, Abdurahman Randathani, MLA, Mohammedunni Haji, MLA, former Minister K. Kutty Ahamed Kutty, and a host of civic officials and close relatives at the airport.

While Abdulla Koya hails from Parappanangadi, the other two are from Tanur. Tears welled up in their eyes as they hugged their relatives with shivering hands. They whimpered as they narrated their jail life in Iran, which was more squalid than they could imagine in their country.

They said they were caught by Iranian forces while working in Dhammam, Saudi Arabia.

They landed in an Iran jail for allegedly crossing the sea limits while fishing along with 16 Tamils.

For the first three months, the outside world had no idea about their whereabouts. Mr. Kasim said he was permitted to inform his brother about his incarceration only when they staged a day-long hunger protest.

They said they lived with a loaf of bread and water they got every day. The jail conditions were pathetic, they said.

They spent the nine months with the same clothes they had been wearing when they were caught. They were not given any uniform in jail. They got a T-shirt to change only when they landed in Mumbai on Tuesday.

They thanked the State government, particularly Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had consoled them over phone when they landed in Mumbai.

It was the involvement of the government and people’s representatives which helped them secure their release from the jail.

Mr. Rabb and the MLAs offered them sweets at the airport. As they whimpered, Mr. Randathani was seen trying to furtively wipe a teardrop.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.