Big Diplomatic Win For India; Qatar Frees 8 Jailed Ex-Indian Navy Veterans who were on Death Row

Qatar has released the 8 former Navy officers who were taken into custody under charges of alleged espionage. Arrested in August 2022, the Navy veterans were sentenced to death on October 26, last year. 7 of them have returned to the country on Monday morning after 18 months of custody, informed the Ministry of External Affairs. Both India and Qatar, however never disclosed the real charges against the former navy personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 2, last year. Soon after that, the jailed officials were allowed counselor access.

"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,' said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement.

Employed by a private firm, Dahra Global, Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh were detained in August 30, 2022. While the seven have returned, there is no clarity as yet about Commander Tiwari. Commander Tiwari has been released from jail but it is still unclear as to why he didn’t return along with the others. In December last year, a Qatari Court commuted their death sentence to imprisonment ranging between three years and 25 years. Commander Tiwari, incidentally was given the maximum jail term of 25 years. Interestingly, Tiwari held a senior leadership position at Dahra Global. The rest- four were given 15 years in prison, two of them faced 10 years, and the only sailor among the eight men, Ragesh, was sentenced to three years of jail term. “Tiwari, hopefully, will be back soon. There is nothing to be worried about”, said a senior Indian diplomat.

Amidst chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, the former Navy officers thanked the Prime Minister and the Emir of Qatar for their release. "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,” said one of the former Navy officers upon returning to the country.​​