Death penalty to 8 Indian Veterans by Qatar court
Eight men and two others were taken into custody in August 2022 on unreported charges. They were placed under isolation. In their individual capacities, Captains Navtej Singh Gill, Saurabh Vasisht, Purnendu Tiwari, Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Sanjeev Gupta, Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh were employed by a private company, Dahra Global, to supervise the integration of Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force.
All eight of the men received the death penalty from a Qatari court in October of 2022. Reports state that they were accused of spying for Israel, though the charges against them have not been made public by Qatari authorities.
The events leading to the release of eight Navy veterans
The Qatari appellate court commuted their death sentence in December of last year to a term of imprisonment ranging from three to twenty-five years. At Dahra Global, Commander Tiwari was a senior leader and received the maximum sentence of 25 years. Of the eight men, four were sentenced to fifteen years in prison, two to ten, and Ragesh, the only sailor, to the most lenient three years.
Family members stated in December 2023 that they intended to file an appeal with the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar, following the appellate court’s decision to commute their death sentence.
The legal team was given 60 days to file an appeal, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson who spoke with the media during the first week of January. Then, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters, “The legal team has now received a copy of the court order, which is confidential in nature. Additionally, the legal team has been granted sixty days to file an appeal with Qatar’s highest court, the Court of Cassation. We are in contact with the families and the legal team, and our team is working on this matter to determine the best course of action,” he had stated.
After that, family members had no idea how the government handled their kin’s release. Another family member stated, “We don’t know how this was made possible; we just know that the Emir has approved of their release.”
“The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar,” the MEA said in a statement following their release. “Of the eight, seven have gone back to India. We are grateful that the Emir of the State of Qatar made the decision to allow these citizens to be released and return home.”
Navy veterans on their return to India
Following their safe return to India, a Navy veteran coming from Qatar stated, “We are very happy that we are back in India. Without a doubt, we are grateful to PM Modi for his personal intervention, which made this possible. Additionally, it occurred as a result of the Indian government’s constant efforts.”
“We waited almost for 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. It wouldn’t have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar. We are grateful to the Government of India from the bottom of our hearts for every effort that has been made and this day won’t have been possible without those efforts.”, said another veteran who returned to India.
Family informed by Indian govt after men boarded flights back home
The Indian government notified the relatives of the eight former Indian Navy officers who were taken into custody in 2022 over suspected espionage charges that they had been released and were returning home late on Sunday. Only Commander Purnendu Tiwari has not returned yet out of the eight. It’s unclear why Commander Tiwari hasn’t returned yet, despite the fact that he was released from prison with others. But Commander Tiwari is also anticipated to return to India shortly.
On Monday, all others arrived in New Delhi early. It has been discovered that the eight men have been released and will be able to live in freedom in India with their families.
One of the eight former Navy men’s family members said, “Our veterans are back.” We are incredibly appreciative of the Emir of Qatar’s consent to their release as well as the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After they boarded their flights late last night, we were informed of their release and return trip home.”
by Swapnil Angel Samad