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Indian court fines 98 Indonesian Tablighi Jamaat members for quarantine violations
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday that the 98 Indonesian citizens, who had made plea bargains, had been ordered by the court to pay 10,000 rupees or about Rp 2 million each.
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Men wear protective masks inside a bus taking them to a COVID-19 quarantine facility in Nizamuddin, New Delhi, India, on March 31. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
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court in India has fined 98 Indonesian members of Tablighi Jamaat, a worldwide Islamic missionary movement, for violating immigration and quarantine policies in the South Asian country.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday that the 98 Indonesian citizens, who had made plea bargains, had been ordered by the court to pay 10,000 rupees or about Rp 2 million each.
A total of 436 Indonesians – of the more than 700 Indonesians stranded in India after attending Islamic gatherings – have gone on trial between July 14 and 16, she added.
They were accused of violating the provisions of their visas and the Epidemic Disease Act.
During the trial, most of the defendants admitted to the violations but said they had never intended to break the law.
Retno said that 19 of the 751 Indonesian members of Tablighi Jamaat in India had returned home.
"They have gone through the legal proceedings and have obtained exit permits," she said. "So, at the moment, there are 732 Indonesian Tablighi Jamaat in India."
The Foreign Ministry reported in May that about 1,129 Indonesian Tablighi Jamaat members were stranded in 13 foreign countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan and Morocco, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early June, the ministry announced that 360 had returned to Indonesia.
Retno said the Indonesian government would continue to communicate with and provide legal assistance to the remaining Indonesian Tablighi Jamaah members in India.
"We will facilitate their independent repatriation process once they've gone through the legal proceedings and obtained exit permits. We are also maintaining communication with Indian authorities," she added.
