A Qatari court on Monday released all eight detained former Indian Navy personnel and seven of them have returned to India, a foreign ministry statement said.
In its official statement, the MEA welcomed the decision of a Qatari court to release former Indian Navy personnel who were earlier sentenced to death in the country and appreciated their return.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement: “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global who were detained in Qatar. Seven of the eight have returned to India. We appreciate the Emir of the State of Qatar’s decision The decision to release these nationals and return them to their countries.”
Earlier, the death sentence of a jailed Indian Navy veteran was commuted to extended jail term following diplomatic talks between Qatar and India.
The sentences were also shortened after various relatives of the imprisoned Indians sought help from the MEA, which in turn assured to use all diplomatic channels and legal assistance to bring them back.
The MEA said in a statement that out of a total of eight former Indian naval officers imprisoned in Qatar, seven have returned to India. Arrangements are currently being made to bring home the last of the released veterans.
Why ex-Indian Navy personnel are jailed in Qatar
The eight Indian nationals, who were former Indian Navy personnel, were imprisoned in Qatar in October 2022 for allegedly spying on submarine programmes. The Indian nationals were found guilty of espionage by a Qatari court and sentenced to death on undisclosed charges.
India’s foreign ministry said the court’s ruling was “deeply shocking” and said it would explore all legal options to quash the charges against the former Indian navy personnel.
The Dakhla Global case made significant progress last year when a Qatari court commuted the death sentence of an Indian national following the intervention of the Indian government. The sentence was commuted to imprisonment.