VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

16 Indonesian Jamaah Tabligh (JT) members return from India on March 26, 2021. (ANTARA/HO-Kemlu RI)

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry and representative in India again facilitated the return of 16 members of Jamaah Tabligh (JT or Tablighi Jamaat) from India.

The members arrived safely in Jakarta by Garuda Indonesia Airways on March 26, the ministry noted in a statement here on Saturday.

Upon arrival, swab tests were conducted on the members and were required to undergo a five-day quarantine in accordance with the health protocols against COVID-19.

They were the last batch of a total of 751 Indonesian members of JT, who had been returned to Jakarta from India since 2020.

Of the total, one member passed away in India owing to illness, while two decided to head to Saudi Arabia since they held a stay permit from the Saudi Government.JT members had been stranded in India since early last year when the Indian Government imposed a lockdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of them had to face legal charges.

Thousands of foreign JT members joined a major Nizamuddin congregation in Delhi in March 2020.
The Indian government had detained hundreds of foreign JT members for allegedly violating COVID-19 lockdown measures in March last year, with the largest group being from Indonesia.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry, the Indonesian embassy in New Delhi, and the Indonesian Consulate General in Mumbai had offered protection to them by providing consular access, lawyers, logistics aid, and temporary accommodation. The Indonesian diplomats had also approached the Indian authorities for their release.

With the return of the 16 JT members, there were no other JT members from Indonesia in India//ANT