10,152 Indian prisoners in prisons in 86 countries of the world

Representative Image

New Delhi – There are 10,152 Indian prisoners in prisons in 86 countries of the world. This includes judicial prisoners, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh stated in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

1. There are also figures showing prisoners in 86 countries including the US, Argentina, Russia, Spain, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. There are 2,633 prisoners in Saudi Arabia’s prisons, 2,518 in the United Arab Emirates’ prisons, and 1,317 Indian citizens in Nepal’s prisons. There are 266 prisoners in Pakistan and 98 in Sri Lanka.

2. After the Football World Cup in Qatar, a large number of citizens from Kerala have been imprisoned, is the Government aware of this, a question was asked in the Lok Sabha. Responding to this, the Minister of State said that according to the data available from the Ministry of External Affairs, there are 611 Indian prisoners in Qatari prisons. However, due to the confidentiality law, the Qatar Government cannot disclose their information without the consent of the prisoners concerned.

Over 10K Indians lodged in prisons of 86 countries: 50% in Saudi, UAE – Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union minister of state for external affairs

There are 169 Indian nationals in USA jails, 288 in UK and 1317 in Nepal jails#Parliament #BudgetSession2025 pic.twitter.com/yqnVSKksjt

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) February 8, 2025

3. Kirti Vardhan Singh further said that the Government was committed to cooperating with Indian prisoners in foreign prisons. After an Indian citizen is arrested, his information is immediately given to the Indian Embassy. Later the officials of the Foreign Office immediately contact the prison and provide assistance to the arrested Indian citizen. After verifying the facts of his arrest, he was offered legal assistance.