Eight ex-Indian Navy officers sentenced to death for ‘spying’ in Qatar released, seven returned to India
Eight former Indian Navy officers who were sentenced to death in Qatar have now been released.
Confirming the news on Monday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the release of eight Indian nationals working for Al-Zahra Al-Alami Consultancy and Services in Qatar.
The Ministry of External Affairs further said that seven of the eight released people have returned to India. “We welcome the decision of the Emir of Qatar to allow the release and repatriation of these nationals. ‘
What is the case of former Indian Navy officers convicted in Qatar?
In the Indian media, the former Indian Navy officers convicted in Qatar were identified as Commander (retired) Purnendu Tiwari, Captain (retd) Navtej Singh Gill, Commander (retd) Birender Kumar Verma, Captain (retd) Saurabh Vishisht, Commander (retd) Sognakar Pakala, Commander (retd) Amit Nagpal, Commander (retd) Amit Nagpal and sailor Ragesh.
All of those convicted worked for Doha-based Al-Zahra Al-Alami Consultancy and Services. The company provides training and equipment to the Qatar Navy.
The company is allegedly owned by an Omani national, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Omani Air Force, who was also arrested along with eight Indians, but were transferred after investigation.
The company’s website describes her as a “local business partner” of Qatar’s Ministry of Defense, Security and other government agencies. He has been described as a specialist in operating and repairing and maintaining defense equipment.
The website also gave a list of the company’s top officials and their positions, including the names of many Indian citizens, but later this website was not accessible on the Internet.
On October 25, 2022, Dr. Mitu Bhargava, sister of Commander (retd) Purnendu Tiwari, tweeted that “eight former Indian Navy personnel, who served the motherland, have been in illegal detention in Doha for the last 57 days.” ‘
Nearly a year after their arrest, a Qatari court sentenced them to death, but did not release details of the charges under which they were sentenced.
However, news agencies ‘Financial Times’ and ‘Reuters’ claimed that these people were punished for spying at the behest of Israel.
In December 2023, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 conference in Dubai.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi enquired about the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar and discussed bilateral issues. The meeting between the two leaders was also significant because at that time these former Indian Navy officers were imprisoned in Qatar.
After the meeting, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs informed that the death sentence given to these Indian nationals has been abolished and they have been sentenced to “different periods” of imprisonment.
However, on Monday morning, the Indian government now says that all these people have been released and seven of them have returned to India.
The release comes as India and Qatar signed a landmark deal worth $78 billion.
According to the agreement signed last week, India will buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar by 2048.
Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), India’s largest LNG importer, has signed the deal with Qatar’s state-owned company Qatar Energy.
Under this agreement, Qatar will export 7.5 million tons of gas to India every year.
This gas is used to make electricity, fertilizer and convert it into CNG.