Big Diplomatic Win: Qatar Frees 8 Indian Navy Veterans Jailed On Espionage Charges

New Delhi: In a major diplomatic victory for New Delhi, Qatar has freed eight Indian Navy Veterans who were detained in the West Asian country on espionage charges. Doha released the veterans on Monday, following consistent diplomatic intervention by India. 

In December last year, the Qatari court had commuted the death sentence and reduced it to jail terms. The 8 Indian Navy veterans were arrested by the Qatar authorities in the Dahra Global case. The Indian government released an official statement welcoming the release decision and informed that 7 out of 8 have returned to India. 

"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 India's ministry of external affairs. 

After landing in India, one of the Navy veterans thanked the constant efforts of the Indian government and the diplomatic assistance and the intervention by the foreign ministry. “We waited almost for 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. It wouldn't have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar. We are grateful to the Government of India from the bottom of our hearts for every effort that has been made and this day won't have been possible without those efforts,” said one of the Navy veterans. 

Who are the 8 Indian Navy Veterans?

The Indian navy veterans who were detained in the case are- 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 Gopakumar who worked for Dahra Global Technologies, a defence services provider in Qatar. 

Dahra Global Technologies is owned by a retired member of the Royal Omani Air Force. The owner of the firm were also detained along with the Indian Navy veterans in 2022. 

Why did Qatar detain Indian Navy officers? 

Qatar had detained 8 retired Indian navy officers on the accusations of allegedly spying on a submarine programme. They were imprisoned in Qatar from October 2022. The retired naval personnel were sentenced to death by a Qatar court on charges that have not yet been made public officially. However, reports suggest that Qatar had accused the veterans of spying for Israel on Qatar's advanced submarines, which have stealth capabilities that make them harder to detect

India's efforts to bring back veterans 

Immediately after the report of the death penalty floated, India said that it was “deeply shocked” after the verdict and in October this year, the country filed an appeal against the court’s verdict. India’s External Affairs Ministry has been in constant touch with the kins of the Navy veterans while New Delhi’s ambassador in Doha met the veterans in the prison and guided the counsel and family in the court procedures. 

“Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family members. We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities,” the MEA had earlier said. 

Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai and discussed bilateral partnership and the "well-being of the Indian community" living in Qatar.