New Delhi, July 31 (IANS): More than 130,000 people from 150 countries have urged Costa Rica to arrest the killers of Jairo Mora Sandoval, a Costa Rican sea turtle biologist, an Indian group said Wednesday.

The signatures were delivered to Costa Rican diplomatic missions by Humane Society International India (HSI India), Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Turtle Island Restoration Network and other organisations.

Jairo was a 26-year-old biologist working to protect nesting sea turtles from poaching and other threats on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast in Moin, a statement from HSI India said.

He was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by at least five armed criminals May 30. Four women - three Americans and a Spaniard - were also kidnapped but escaped uninjured.

The petition calls on the Costa Rican government to commit police protection to beaches where poaching and narcotics trafficking pose a significant threat to the safety of sea turtles, conservationists and tourists.

It also calls on the federal government to expedite the investigation and ensure that Jairo's killers were swiftly brought to justice.

Like Costa Rica, India is home to sea turtle nesting beaches that are protected by the efforts of conservationists.

HSI India and its partner organisations together constitute one of the world's largest animal protection organisations.