Meanwhile, Indian owners of the diamond companies (whose employees were among the 21 detained) met in Hong Kong to work out a common strategy to secure the early release of the detenus.
An official from the Indian embassy in Beijing gained consular access on Wednesday to the 21 Indians detained in southern China on charges of smuggling diamonds and is arranging legal help.
An official from Beijing, accompanied by an official from the Indian consulate-general in Guangzhou, visited the Meilin Detention Centre in Shenzhen and met the detenus individually through the day, sources familiar with the developments told DNA.
“The detenus are being well taken care of and are in reasonably good state of mind, given the circumstances,” one of the sources said.
“One or two of them are nervous about the Chinese prison system.” A few others, being Jains, face dietary challenges: they don’t eat potatoes and onions, but were being served cabbage and white rice instead.
The youngest detenu is 23; the oldest is in his mid-40s, the source said. “Many of them have been living in Shenzhen for upto five years, and can converse in Chinese.”
The Indian officials are also negotiating with law firms to represent the Indians, who were detained last Friday as part of what Shenzhen customs officials said was a crackdown on an international ring of smugglers who were carting diamonds from Hong Kong into mainland China.
Meanwhile, Indian owners of the diamond companies (whose employees were among the 21 detained) met in Hong Kong to work out a common strategy to secure the early release of the detenus.
“They are understandably very worried,” another source told DNA.
“They want to do whatever it takes to secure their boys’ release.”
The fact that the charge sheet hasn’t yet been filed appears to give the owners some hope that a negotiated settlement can be reached, the source said. “Without prejudice to their claims to being wholly innocent, they hope that the charge of smuggling and money laundering can be dropped, and that they can get away with paying fines on some lighter charges like tax evasion.”
Initial reports suggested that 33 foreigners (including 21 Indians) and 17 Chinese had been detained, but it’s not clear who the other foreigners were.
“There’s been speculation that a few Israelis and a few more Indians were among those detained, but they were then let off for reasons unknown,” the source speculated.
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