Over three months after they were sentenced to death, seven of the eight former Indian Navy personnel were released and brought to India from Qatar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. “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,” read a statement by the MEA on Monday.
In October last year, the Navy veterans were handed death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance in a case of suspected espionage. Qatar's Court of Appeal had in December 2023 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced the Navy veterans to jail terms for varying durations.
They were working with the private company Al Dahra in Qatar and were arrested in August 2022. The company, Al-Dhara Global, closed its operations in Doha in May last year, while all those working there, mainly Indians, returned to their home country.
The charges against the Indian nationals were not made public by the Qatari authorities.
#WATCH | Delhi: Qatar released the eight Indian ex-Navy veterans who were in its custody; seven of them have returned to India. pic.twitter.com/yuYVx5N8zR
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024
“We are very happy that we are back in India, safely. Definitely, we would like to thank PM Modi, as this was only possible because of his personal intervention,” one of the Navy veterans said.
Another added, “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.”
Here's a brief timeline of the case:
August 30, 2022: The eight ex-Navy officials were arrested in Qatar for unknown reasons and placed in solitary confinement. As per reports, they were arrested by the intelligence agency in Qatar on accusation of spying.
October 1, 2022: The Indian Ambassador in Doha and Deputy Head of Mission met the eight former Navy personnel.
October 3, 2022: As the first Consular access was granted, Dahra Global CEO tried to help the officials but was later arrested. After spending two months in solitary confinement, he was released on bail.
March 1, 2023: The bail pleas of the Navy veterans were rejected.
March 25, 2023: Charges were filed against them based on the Qatari law.
May 30, 2023: Dahra Global ended its operations in Doha, while all its employees returned to their home countries.
August 4, 2023: The eight men were moved from solitary confinement to a jail ward
October 26, 2023: All of them were sentenced to death by a Qatar court.
November 9, 2023: Authorities in India informed that an appeal has been filed in Qatar over the death penalty to eight former Navy personnel.
November 23, 2023: Qatari court accepted India's appeal.
December 28, 2023: Qatar court overturns death sentence awarded to the eight men.
February 12, 2024: India announced the release of all the eight men. Seven of them return to India.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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