Eight former Indian Navy soldiers jailed in Qatar on spying charges released, seven return home

Qatari authorities on Monday released eight Indian Navy veterans who were sentenced to death there. Earlier, due to diplomatic intervention by New Delhi, the death penalty was commuted to extended jail term. The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier assured the family members of these veterans that it would mobilize all diplomatic channels and arrange legal assistance to enable their return.

According to an official statement, seven of the eight former Indian Navy officers have returned to India. “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global Company detained in Qatar. Seven out of eight of them have returned to India. “We appreciate the decision of the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and return home of these citizens,” the Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

“We are very happy that we are back in India safely. Of course, we would like to thank PM Modi, as this was possible only because of his personal intervention,” said one of the released veterans while speaking to the news agency. ANI,

These former naval officers, imprisoned in Qatar since 2022, were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine program. Qatar has not yet made public the charges against the former navy veterans.

“Without PM Modi’s intervention it would not have been possible for us to stand here. And this also happened because of the sustained efforts of the Indian government,” said another veteran, thanking the Prime Minister for his efforts.

“We waited for almost 18 months to come back to India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. This would not have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar. We are wholeheartedly grateful for every effort made by the Government of India and without those efforts this day would not have been possible,” another veteran told the news agency.

Who were the eight stalwarts arrested?

Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar were the eight Indian Navy veterans who were arrested in August 2022. The Qatari government alleged that the veterans, employed by Qatar-based defense services provider Dahra Global Technologies, were spying on a submarine program on behalf of Israel.

Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services is a private firm that provides training to the country’s armed forces. The Indians were involved in advising the Qatari government on the acquisition of submarines. The firm also provided support solutions to the aerospace, security, defence, information technology and communications sectors.

Dahra Global ceased operations last year and its employees, mostly Indians, returned home. Khamis Al-Ajmi, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Oman Air Force, ran the company. He was also arrested but released in November 2022.

Commander Purnendu Tiwari (Retd), who serves as the Managing Director of the company, was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for his contribution in enhancing bilateral relations between India and Qatar. He is also known for commanding several warships of the Indian Navy.