NewsGate Press Network

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits UAE for the inauguration of a largest temple in the Middle East, Qatar has freed all eight Indian Navy veterans jailed since October 2022.

Seven navy veterans had reached Delhi early on Monday morning on 12th of February 2024.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) at 2.32 am on Monday stated – “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the 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 home-coming of these nationals.”

The eight Indian nationals were imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme.

Qatar court had not made the allegations public. Only select attorneys representing navy veterans along with MEA officials were privy to it.

Earlier, the Qatari Court commuted the death penalty sentence of eight ex-Indian naval officers it had arrested last year in what is known as the ‘Dahra Global company case’.

The freed Indians arrived at the IGI Delhi via a Indigo flight.

The freed navy veterans are  – Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh.