Qatar frees 8 jailed Indian Navy veterans, 7 back home
Qatar released eight Indian Navy veterans who were initially sentenced to death on spying charges early on Monday, and seven of them have returned to India. The capital punishment awarded to these former Navy personnel in October 2023 was commuted to an extended prison term following New Delhi's diplomatic intervention in December last year. Doha's decision to release the Indian Navy veterans and drop their espionage charges also marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough between the nations.
Why does this story matter?
In October 2023, a Qatari court sentenced the eight former Indian Navy officials to death for alleged espionage after detaining them in August 2022. In response to the ruling, New Delhi expressed surprise and appealed against it. The case's first hearing was held in the Court of Appeal of Qatar in November last year. Subsequently, their reduced punishment came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad on the sidelines of COP28 in December 2023.
Know about released Indian Navy veterans
Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh were arrested in August 2022. Employed by a private firm named Dahra Global, they were in Qatar to assist with introducing Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force. Accused of allegedly spying on a submarine program, they were later imprisoned in October 2022.
India reacts to Qatar's release of 8 ex-Indian Navy veterans
Reacting to the Navy veterans' release, India's Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday, "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 Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals," it added.
Released Navy veterans thank Modi, government for assistance
Upon arriving in New Delhi, one of the released former Navy personnel told the media that they were very happy to be safely back in India. "Definitely, we would like to thank PM Modi, as this was only possible because of his personal intervention," he added. Another Navy veteran noted, "We waited almost 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. It wouldn't have been possible without his personal intervention."