Qatar releases 8 Indian Navy veterans jailed on espionage charges, 7 back in India
In a major diplomatic victory for India, Qatar has released eight former Indian Navy personnel who were detained in the Gulf country in an alleged case of espionage.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement released early on Monday, welcomed the development and said seven of the eight former Indian Navy personnel working for the Al Dahra Global Company, a private firm, returned to India from Qatar.
“The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global Company who were detained in Qatar. Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Emir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals,” the MEA said in a statement.
In December last year, a Qatari court reversed the death penalty of the eight Indian Navy veterans who were arrested in the Al Dahra Global case. The death sentence was reduced to jail terms.
The development came after Qatar’s Court of First Instance accepted an appeal filed by the Indian government against the death sentence awarded to the Navy veterans.
The eight Indian Navy officials who were detained in Qatar are — Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, and Sailor Ragesh.
The Indian Navy veterans returned to Delhi and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention in the issue.
“It wouldn’t have been possible for us to stand here without the intervention of PM Modi. And it also happened due to the continuous efforts of the Government of India,” one of the Navy veterans said.
His colleague voiced similar sentiments and said, “We waited almost for 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the Prime Minister. It wouldn’t have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar.”
“We are grateful to the Government of India from the bottom of our hearts for every effort that has been made and this day won’t have been possible without those efforts,” he added.
WHAT IS THE CASE?
The Indian nationals, who worked with Al Dahra, were arrested in August 2022 in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public, given the sensitivity of the matter.
The Navy veterans were awarded death sentences by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26, 2023. India described the ruling as “deeply” shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case.
In its reaction to the ruling by the Qatari court, the MEA had said it was attaching “high importance” to the case and exploring all legal options.
The charges were filed against the Indian nationals on March 25, 2023, and they were tried under Qatari law.