Qatar releases jailed Indian Navy veterans: A brief timeline of the case

Earlier, following diplomatic intervention by New Delhi, the Court of Appeal of Qatar, on December 28, 2023, commuted the death sentence that was awarded to the Navy veterans following their arrest in August 2022.

The men — 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 — were working for a private company, Dahra Global, in their personal capacity, to oversee the induction of Italian U212 stealth submarines in the Qatari Emiri Naval Force. Even now, the exact nature of the allegations against them is not out in the public domain.

The following is a brief timeline of the case and the response of the Indian government.

TIMELINE

2022

August 30: The eight men, along with two others, were arrested on undeclared charges. They were put in solitary confinement.

October 1: India’s Ambassador in Doha and Deputy Head of Mission met the eight naval veterans.

October 3: First Consular access was granted. CEO of Dahra Global Khamis al-Ajmi also came to get his officials out but was arrested himself. He spent two months in solitary confinement after which he was released on bail.

2023

March 1: The last of multiple bail pleas filed for the veterans was rejected.

March 25: Charges were filed against the eight men.

March 29: The trial, under Qatari law, began.

May 30: Dahra Global closed its operations in Doha. All former employees (primarily Indians) have since returned home.

August 4: The arrested men got some relief when they were moved from solitary confinement and put in a jail ward with their colleagues, two men to each cell.

October 26: The court awarded the death penalty to all eight men.

Late October-Early November: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met family members of the sentenced men, assured them that the government would make all efforts to secure their release.

November 7: India gets another round of consular access to the men.

November 9: The MEA announces that it has filed an appeal, and that its legal team has details of the charges.

December 28: Qatar court of appeals commutes the death sentence.

2024

February 12: Qatar releases the eight men, seven of them return to India

What India did to secure their release

The Navy personnel on returning to India said that their release was secured through PM Modi’s personnel intervention.

According to sources, the government had extended every possible support to the arrested sailors throughout their ordeal. The matter was taken up at various diplomatic and political levels, and India and Qatar remain engaged.

The sources pointed out that “just like GOI cannot release a foreigner under trial in India, other countries also have their own judicial processes”.

In addition to the GoI’s efforts, the families of the former Navy personnel had also filed a Mercy Plea to the Emir of Qatar, who is known to grant pardons during Ramadan and Eid.