The government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security of Indians, including those in the foreign jails, Muraleedharan said.

A total of 8950 Indians are in 86 foreign jails, Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan informed the Lok Sabha in reply to a question on Friday.

“As per the information available with the Ministry, the number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails as of 15.12.2022 is 8950 which also includes under-trials,” Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan said.

Of this total, as many as 1858 Indians are in the UAE jails, while 1384 Indian nationals are in Saudi Arabia jails. Even India’s closest neighbour, Nepal has 1222 Indians in its jails.

The Minister said the government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indians in foreign countries, including those in the foreign jails.

Indian Missions and Posts abroad remain vigilant and closely monitor the incidents of Indian nationals being put in jail in foreign countries for violation/ alleged violation of local laws, he said.

The Minister added that apart from extending them all possible consular assistance, Indian Missions and Posts also assist in providing legal aid wherever needed on a means tested basis, He pointed out that the government follows up the issue of release of Indian prisoners including during consular and other consultations.

With regard to signing of extradition treaty, he said till date, India has signed extradition treaties with 50 countries and has extradition arrangements with 12 countries.

Along with this, India has signed Agreements on Transfer of Sentenced Persons with 31 countries; the country has also acceded/ratified the multilateral Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad and the Council of Europe Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Minister told the House.