The families of five fishermen lodged in an Abu Dhabi prison for allegedly intruding into its waters have appealed to the State and the Central governments to take steps to secure their early release. Five fishermen from Kanniyakumari district Y. Jerald Regan, 31; his brother Y. Karol Jahin, 26; A. John Prabhahar, 40; G. Regan Geo Gladwin, 35, all from Kadiyapattinam; and S. Jose Stalin, 32, of Midalam who were employed by their sponsor Jaffer Jubeil to work as fishermen in his mechanised boat Kashwani 3238′ at Vakhra in Qatar, ventured into the sea from their base for fishing on August 25 last. When they were fishing on the high-seas, the Coast Guard of Abu Dhabi, the neighbouring country, arrested them on the next day for allegedly having intruded into the latter’s territory. After being imprisoned at Tarrif, Abu Dhabi, the detained fishermen contacted their friend Probin, who was also in Qatar via phone. They informed him about their detention, and he, in turn, alerted their relatives here. As we forwarded to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi a memorandum seeking the release of the imprisoned fishermen, the officials responded positively. After 65 days of imprisonment, a court there has awarded one-month imprisonment and slapped a fine of 4,000 Riyals (Rs. 72,000 ) on the poor fishermen, who are not in a position to pay the fine, said Rev. Fr. Churchil, general secretary of South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF). Though they had already served the term in the prison, the fishermen could not be released as they have to pay the fine, the final hurdle preventing their release. The Qatari sponsor (Jaffer Jubeil), who is ready to pay this amount, could not transfer 4,000 riyals from Qatar to Abu Dhabi following the sanctions imposed by other Gulf States on Qatar. Fr. Churchil said.