Qatar frees eight former Indian Navy men, PM will go to Doha tomorrow

Qatar frees eight former Indian Navy men, PM will go to Doha tomorrow

More than three months after they were sentenced to death, eight former Indian Navy personnel have been released from custody in Qatar and seven have returned to India.

This was announced by the Ministry of External Affairs in the early hours of Monday. Hours later, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatar on February 14 and meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, after completing his visit to the UAE that starts Tuesday.

Relieved families hailed the efforts of the government and the personal intervention of the Prime Minister – Modi met the Qatar Emir on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1 — in securing the release of the eight men.

Kwatra too said, “Prime Minister has himself personally, constantly, supervised all the developments in this case and has never shied away from an initiative that would ensure the return of Indian nationals home.”

He said the Indian government is “gratified” by the decision of the Qatar Emir and the authorities.

The Indian Express has learnt that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also played a big role in the release of the eight men, even making a quiet visit to Doha “to meet the relevant stakeholders”.

A team of officials in the MEA and PMO in Delhi and the Indian embassy in Doha also worked behind-the-scenes closely under the supervision of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who was leading the diplomatic strategy.

Early Monday, the MEA, in a brief statement, 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 Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals.”

The Indians had been working in their private capacity with Doha-based Dahra Global to oversee the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2.

They have been 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.

Seven of them have returned to India and Commander Tiwari, the eighth person, sources said, will be brought back after some formalities are completed.

The eight men were taken into custody in August 2022. The charges against them were never made public by Qatari authorities. According to a report in the UK daily Financial Times, they were charged with spying for Israel.

They were handed the death sentence in October. India had called it “deeply shocking”, and Jaishankar had met their family members and assured them that the government attached “the highest importance” to the case. In addition to government efforts, the families of the eight had also submitted a mercy plea to the Qatar Emir.

On December 3, for the first time since the death sentences, the Indian ambassador in Doha had met the eight in prison. Before that, Indian officials had got consular access.

The consular access to the Indian envoy and the subsequent commutation of the death sentence followed the December 1 meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the Emir in Dubai. The two leaders had discussed bilateral partnership and the “well-being of the Indian community” living in Qatar – this was read as a euphemism for discussing the situation regarding the eight men on the death row.

On Monday, Kwatra said the Prime Minister will travel to Doha on February 14 afternoon.

During the visit, Kwatra said, “The Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with the Emir of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other high dignitaries in Qatar”.

Modi had last visited Qatar in June 2016 and this will be his second visit.

“The bilateral relationship between India and Qatar that has been steadily growing includes a comprehensive span, including political ties, trade and investment linkages, our strong energy partnership and ties in the field of culture, education and security,” he said.

He also recalled that following the recently concluded India Energy Week, Qatar and India signed an agreement for the supply of 7.5 mmtpa ( million metric tonne per annum) LNG from Qatar to India for 20 years. He said bilateral trade between India and Qatar currently stands at roughly $20 billion and Qatar is also a significant investor in India, across a whole range of economies.

“PM’s visit to Qatar will provide an opportunity for the top leadership of the two countries to discuss ways to further deepen and strengthen our multifaceted partnership as well as exchange views on different regional and international issues of mutual importance,” he said.

Before heading to Qatar, Modi will visit the UAE on Tuesday where he will hold meetings with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and address the Indian diaspora. He will also speak at the World Government Summit and inaugurate a Hindu temple. He will return home on February 15.

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