Qatar released eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel nearly three-and-a-half months after they were handed down death sentences in a case of suspected espionage. Seven of these eight Navy veterans reached India on Monday morning.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said seven of them have returned to India and that India appreciates the decision by the Amir of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of the Indians.
The veterans reportedly had no clue of their release and were asked by jailors last night to pack their things and wait at about 9 am (local time), an NDTV report cited sources as sating. They were then whisked away to the Embassy and subsequently taken to the airport, the report said, adding that they boarded an IndiGo flight that landed in Delhi at 2 am.
7 Reach India, Where Is The 8th Navy Veteran?
Seven out of the eight former Indian Navy veterans, who were on October 26 given death term by Qatar's court, returned to India on Monday, the remaining one is said to have stayed back due to some pending paper work.
The lone Navy veteran not back yet is working through some paper work and is expected to return soon, the NDTV report mentioned.
The veterans who returned today are: Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retired), Captain Saurabh Vasisht (retired), Captain Navtej Singh Gill (retired), Commander Sugunakar Pakala (retired), Captain Birendra Kumar Verma (retired), Commander Sanjeev Gupta (retired), Commander Amit Nagpal (retired) and Sailor Ragesh (retired).
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement and appreciated the decision by the Amir of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of the Indians. "The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar," the MEA said.
"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 said in a brief statement.
The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December 28 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced them to jail terms for varying durations after India's intervention.
The Indian nationals, who worked with the private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August 2022 reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.
