Qatar frees Indian ex-navy men; 7 back home in India

Qatar has freed eight former Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death after being detained in August 2022 on undeclared charges, with New Delhi announcing on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Doha this week to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations.

- Rezaul H Laskar

In a surprising turn of events, the external affairs ministry announced early on Monday that the eight men had been released on the orders of the emir of Qatar, marking a significant diplomatic breakthrough for New Delhi. All but one of the former naval personnel returned home on Monday, and their release ended widespread speculation about their fate following their detention.

Speaking to the media after reaching Delhi, one of the veterans said, "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."

In December last year, Qatar's Court of Appeal commuted the death sentences awarded to the men -Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh and sentenced them to prison for varying durations ranging from three years to 25 years.

The Court of Appeal also gave the eight men 60 days to appeal against the prison terms, but in a surprise development, the external affairs ministry announced they had been released, and that seven of them had returned home.

"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," the ministry said in a brief statement.

"We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals," the statement said without giving details.

Hours after the announcement, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told a media briefing that Modi will visit Qatar on February 14 after a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He also said such trips are finalised months in advance, downplaying suggestions the visit was linked to the case of the eight men.