2 November 2013
India and Vietnam on Friday signed an agreement that would pave way for transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing in jails in the two countries. As part of social rehabilitation of prisoners, the treaty, which was signed by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Vietnam Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, will help Indian prisoners imprisoned in Vietnam or vice-versa to be near their families for serving remaining part of their sentence.
India has so far signed similar agreements with United Kingdom, Mauritius, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Bangladesh, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sri Lanka, UAE, Maldives, Thailand, Turkey, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Russia, while negotiations have been concluded in this regard with Canada, Hong Kong, Brazil and Spain, an official statement said.
So far, these bilateral treaties have helped in repatriation of 43 Indian prisoners from Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the U.K. Similarly, seven prisoners of the U.K. and France were repatriated to their respective countries. The 7th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted the Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners in 1985 and since then many countries have arrived at bilateral and multilateral treaties.
Published by: The Hindu