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Qatar frees 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel jailed on espionage charges
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One of the ex-Navy men who was released from Qatar prison, speaks to the media in Delhi on Monday (February 12). Photo: X/ANI (Screengrab)

Qatar frees 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel jailed on espionage charges

Seven of them returned to India on Monday morning.

The Federal
12 Feb 2024 2:39 AM GMT  (Updated:2024-02-12 03:14:44)

Qatar on Monday (February 12) released eight former Indian Navy personnel who were jailed and handed death sentences on charges of "espionage", the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

In a press release, MEA 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.”

Seven of them returned to India on Monday morning.

“It wouldn't have been possible for us to stand here without the intervention of PM Modi. And it also happened due to the continuous efforts of the Government of India,” one of the them said after arriving at Delhi airport.

Death sentences

The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance.
The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December 28 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced them to jail terms for varying durations.
The Indian nationals, who worked with the private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August 2022 reportedly in an alleged case of espionage.
Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.
The charges were filed against the eight Indian Navy veterans on March 25 last year and they were tried under Qatari law.
India-Qatar pact
After the Court of Appeal commuted the death sentence, the Indian nationals were given 60 days to appeal against the order of their jail terms.
In May last year, Al-Dhara Global closed its operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home.
India was also looking at the possibility of invoking provisions of a bilateral pact on the transfer of sentenced persons.
The pact inked between India and Qatar in 2015 provides for citizens of India and Qatar who have been convicted and sentenced for criminal offences to serve their sentences in their home country.
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