India's diplomatic triumph: Who are the 8 ex-Navy veterans freed by Qatar?

In the early hours of February 12, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement, expressing gratitude to the state of Qatar for the release of the eight Indian nationals.

The Indian government, on February 12, welcomed back the eight ex-Navy veterans who had been earlier given the capital punishment in Qatar for their role in an allegedly espionage case related to a submarine programme.

The individuals apprehended in August 2022 from the Indian Navy include Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar, according to an earlier PTI report.

In the early hours of February 12, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement, expressing gratitude to the state of Qatar for the release of the eight Indian nationals.

A brief profile of the eight former Navy veterans

All these former Navy officers, with distinguished service spanning up to 20 years, held significant roles, including instructional positions within the force, the PTI had reported last year.

Captain Gill, recipient of the President's Gold Medal for excellence upon graduating from the Naval Academy, has served as an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College in Tamil Nadu.

In 2019, Commander Purnendu Tiwari received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest accolade for overseas Indians. At that time, the Indian Embassy in Doha had expressed that Commander Tiwari was honored for enhancing India's global image.

These eight individuals were employed by Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm providing training and services to Qatar's armed forces. The company is owned by Khamis al-Ajmi, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Oman Air Force, who was also detained alongside the Indians in 2022 but released in November 2023.

Qatar's intelligence agency arrested the group on August 30, 2022, and though the charges of espionage were filed on March 25, neither Qatari authorities nor New Delhi had publicly disclosed the specifics.

On October 26, 2023, the Navy veterans were sentenced to death by Qatar's Court of First Instance. New Delhi described the ruling as "deeply" shocking and had vowed to explore all legal options in the case.

India's Diplomatic Win

The verdict from the Qatar court is considered a significant diplomatic victory for India. It comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during the COP28 Summit in Dubai in December 2023. Following their discussion on December 1, PM Modi had highlighted their talks about the welfare of the Indian community in Qatar.

"We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar," the prime minister had shared on microblogging site X on December 2.

A day later, on December 3, the Indian ambassador to Qatar engaged with eight former Indian Navy personnel, the MEA had noted in a statement. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had stated that two appeal hearings regarding the death sentence have been conducted.

"We are closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance…Our ambassador got consular access to meet all eight of them in prison on December 3," Bagchi had announced at a press briefing, it has been learnt from PTI.

Before that, on October 30, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met with the relatives of the former Navy officials. He had assured the family members that the government would exert every possible effort to ensure the release of these Indian nationals, as reported by PTI.

According to the MEA, this January, the Court of Appeal granted a 60-day window for eight former Indian Navy personnel to appeal the varied prison sentences imposed on them after the commutation of their death sentences, the PTI had reported.