Indian Navy : The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved a major diplomatic victory as Qatar on Monday released eight former Indian Navy personnel who were awarded death sentence on alleged espionage charges. Earlier, after the diplomatic intervention of New Delhi, Doha had reduced the death sentence of Indian citizens to jail imprisonment.
Amid concerns by worried families of former Navy personnel pleading for their release and safe return to their motherland, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had assured that it will arrange legal assistance to bring them back through all diplomatic channels. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed through an official statement on Monday that seven of the eight former naval officers have already returned to India.
The central government issued an official statement welcoming the decision to release the veteran officers, saying, “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global Company, who were 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 Ministry of External Affairs had said in November 2023 that India has filed an appeal with Qatar on the death sentence awarded to eight former Indian Navy personnel, who were arrested in August 2022 and sentenced to death in October last year. Eight Indian nationals were imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on the submarine programme. The retired marines were sentenced to death by a Qatari court on charges that have not yet been officially made public.
This is how India’s diplomatic victory happened
The Qatar court’s decision is also being seen as a major diplomatic victory for India, as it came after weeks in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai. After this meeting held on December 1, 2023, PM Narendra Modi had said that he had discussed the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar.
Said thanks to PM Modi
These former marines who returned to India from Qatar thanked the PM for their release. He said that, we waited for about 18 months to return to our country. We are extremely grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This would not have been possible without his personal intervention and his close ties with Qatar. We are wholeheartedly thankful for every effort made by the Government of India. Without their efforts it would not have been possible for us to see this day.
