On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that seven out of the eight former Indian Navy personnel, who had been sentenced to death, have been released from Qatar’s custody and brought back to India.
The Government of India expressed its appreciation for the decision made by the Amir of the State of Qatar to facilitate the release and repatriation of these individuals. The MEA statement also mentioned that Commander Purnendu Tiwari, whose death sentence was commuted to a 25-year life term, is expected to return to India in the near future.
In an interview with news agency ANI, one of the individuals who had been released expressed their gratitude, stating, “We are delighted to have safely returned to India. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Prime Minister Modi for his personal involvement in making this possible, as well as to the Amir of Qatar for granting us this opportunity.”
Last year in December, the appellate court in Qatar had commuted the death sentence of the eight former Indian Navy personnel.
These Indian citizens, who were employed by Dahra Global in Doha, were detained in August 2022. The specific charges against them were not disclosed by Qatari authorities. However, according to a report in the Financial Times, they were accused of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Israel.
In early December, the Indian ambassador in Doha visited the eight former Indian Navy personnel who had been sentenced to death in October. This consular access was granted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani during the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1.
During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar, which was understood to include the situation of the eight individuals on death row. These individuals, identified as 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, had been working with Dahra Global in overseeing the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2.
Following the verdict in October, which had deeply shocked India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met with the families of the eight personnel and assured them of the government’s utmost attention to their case. Additionally, the families had submitted a mercy plea to the Emir of Qatar, furthering their efforts for a favorable outcome.