Seven of the eight Indian Navy veterans, who were released by a Qatar court months after being sentenced to death on ‘espionage’ charges, heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after on arrival in New Delhi on Monday morning. Interacting with reporters, some of the veterans claimed that they wouldn’t have been released had it for the sustained diplomatic efforts at his behest to secure their release.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said on Monday that of the eight Indian nationals, seven have already returned to India. The capital punishment was commuted to an extended prison term earlier following diplomatic intervention by New Delhi.
Relieved to finally walk free, the seven former Indian Navy officers raised chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” at the Delhi airport. One of the Navy veterans thanked Modi for raising their sentencing with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and attributed their release to relentless diplomatic efforts at his behest.
“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,” he said.
Another released former naval officer told, “Without the intervention of PM Modi, we would not have walked free. We wouldn’t be standing before you today had it not been for his untiring efforts and interventions at the highest levels to get us freedom.”
One of the veterans also praised the Indian government’s intervention in securing their release, 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.”
On December 28 last year, Qatar’s Court of Appeal commuted the death sentences awarded last October and sentenced the eight men, who were working with Doha-based Al Dahra Global Technologies, to prison for varying durations ranging from three years to 25 years.
Doha-based Al Dahra Global Technologies, a private firm, provided training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies. The veterans – Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh – were detained in August 2022 on undeclared charges.
Among the eight veterans, Captain Navtej Gill was awarded the President’s Gold Medal for excellence when he graduated from the Naval Academy and later served as an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington in Tamil Nadu.
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