How Indian Navy veterans, their families learnt about release from Qatar jail

In an enormous reduction and a matter of quiet celebration for all Indians, Qatar has launched eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel almost three-and-a-half months after they have been handed down demise sentences in a case of suspected espionage.

The Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) stated in a press release on Monday that seven of them have returned to India and that India appreciates the choice by the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar to allow the discharge and home-coming of the Indians.

Now that they’re free, the eight males can stay freely in India with their households.

Right here’s how the household was knowledgeable concerning the launch of the Navy personnel.

Indian authorities delivers the excellent news

A member of the family of one of many eight ex-Navy men informed Indian Categorical that the Indian authorities solely notified them of their launch and their return after they’d boarded their flights late on Sunday night time.

“Our veterans are back. We are immensely grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his personal intervention, and also to the Emir of Qatar for agreeing to their release. We were told about their release and journey back home once they had boarded their flights late last night,” the member of the family informed the newspaper.

Members of the family weren’t conscious how the authorities managed their kins’ launch. “We don’t know the details of how this was made possible, just that the Emir has agreed to their release,” one other member of the family informed the outlet.

Navy veterans launched

The Indian nationals, all staff of the Doha-based firm Dahra International, have been recognized as Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, and Sailor Ragesh.

Reacting to their launch, the MEA stated in a press release, “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for 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 homecoming of these nationals.”

Of the eight, solely Commander Purnendu Tiwari has not returned but. The lone veteran is finishing some paperwork and needs to be again quickly, in line with NDTV.

No clue of their imminent launch

In response to NDTV, which cited its sources, the seven Navy veterans have been apparently unaware that they’d quickly be launched.

The sources declare that yesterday night time, jailors requested the veterans to pack their belongings and wait till roughly 9 am (native time).

After that, they have been whisked off to the Embassy after which to the airport. They boarded an IndiGo flight that arrived in Delhi at two within the morning.

The case in opposition to them in Qatar

The eight Navy personnel have been arrested in August 2022. They have been accused of spying for Israel, although the allegations in opposition to them haven’t but been made public by Qatari authorities, in line with Indian Categorical.

The utmost sentence of 25 years was meted out to Commander Tiwari, a senior officer at Dahra International.

Out of the eight people, 4 obtained sentences of 15 years in jail; two of them confronted 10 years; and Ragesh, the one sailor, was handed the lightest punishment of three years.

Amid determined pleas by the anxious kin of the Navy veterans to safe their launch and secure passage again to their homeland, the MEA had assured that it could mobilise all diplomatic channels and organize authorized help to deliver them again.

The Qatari appellate court docket modified their death sentence in December final yr to a time period of imprisonment starting from three to 25 years.

The veterans’ demise sentence was commuted, shortly after PM Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai. The sentence has now been lowered to jail phrases.

Describing the judgement, the Exterior Affairs Ministry had stated, “We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced.”

Following this, members of the family had informed Indian Categorical that they’d file an attraction within the Court docket of Cassation, the very best court docket in Qatar.

Earlier within the first week of January, the MEA spokesperson informed the reporters the authorized crew had been given 60 days to file an attraction. “The legal team has now received a copy of the court order, which is confidential in nature,” newly-appointed MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had stated.

“Further, the legal team has been given 60 days to file an appeal in the Court of Cassation, Qatar’s highest court. Our legal team is working on this issue to decide the next course of action, and we are in touch with the families and the legal team,” he had stated.

Furthermore, the Court docket of First Occasion of Qatar had additionally handed the judgement in opposition to them, in line with a press release by the Ministry of Exterior Affairs.

‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ chants heard

Setting foot of their homeland after a number of agonising months of captivity in Kuwait, seven of the eight Indian navy veterans heaped reward on PM Modi, saying they wouldn’t have been freed had it for the sustained diplomatic efforts at his behest to safe their launch, in line with ANI.

Relieved to lastly stroll free, the seven former Navy officers raised chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” after arriving on the Delhi airport within the early hours of Monday.

Talking to the information company, one of many Navy veterans stated, “I feel relieved and delighted to finally be back home safe and sound. I wish to thank Prime Minister Modi as this wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for his personal intervention to secure our release. I also wish to express my gratitude to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar.”

One other freed navy veteran additionally got here out in reward of the Centre’s intervention in securing their launch, saying, “We, as well as our anxious family members back home, had been waiting for this day for a long time. It all worked out because of PM Modi and his personal intervention in the matter. He took up our case with the highest levels of the Qatari government and eventually secured our release. I don’t have enough words to express my gratitude to him and the Emir of Qatar.”

With inputs from businesses