India got diplomatic victory and 8 Indians came out of Qatar jail. Of these, 7 also returned to their country. Everyone is giving credit for this relief to the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, this story is not so short, it is very long. These 8 former soldiers of the Indian Navy have gone through a difficult period of 18 months, first from arrest, then to death sentence and now to release.
The Ministry of External Affairs said, ‘The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global Company detained in Qatar.’
The ministry said, ‘Of the eight Indians released, seven have returned to India. We appreciate the decision of the Emir of Qatar for the release and return of these citizens to their homes.
Story from arrest to release
30 August 2022: 8 former Indian Navy officers were arrested in Qatar. Till then it was not clear on what charges he was arrested.
Then media reports claimed that Qatar’s intelligence agency had arrested him on charges of espionage.
1-3 October 2022: Indian Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Staff met former Navy officers in Doha. Here, the CEO of Dahara Global, who was trying to help the authorities, was also arrested. He was granted bail after two months.
March 1, 2023: Petitions filed for former naval officers in Qatar were rejected.
25 March 2023: Charges were filed against all and the trial began on March 29.
May 2023: Dahra Global ceased operations in Doha. After the closure of the company, most of the Indian employees had decided to return to their country.
26 October 2023: All 8 Indian citizens were given death sentence by the Qatar court.
9 November 2023: Indian officials informed that an appeal has been filed in Qatar for release.
23 November 2023: Qatar’s court accepted India’s appeal. India had filed an appeal against the death sentence.
1 December 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit held in Dubai. During that time he also discussed bilateral partnership and the betterment of the Indian community living in Qatar.
28 December 2023: The Indian citizens serving the sentence got a big relief and the Qatari court commuted the death sentence to imprisonment.
12 February 2024: The Government of India announced the release of all 8 officers.
these were released
The names of 8 Indians detained in Qatar include Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.