Commander Purnendu Tiwari has been released from prison along with seven others but he has yet to land in India.
Indian And Qatar: The eighth Indian Navy veteran who was sentenced to death in Qatar along with seven others on espionage charges will return home after fulfilling ‘certain requirements’. This was announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.
Even though Commander Purnendu Tiwari has been released from prison along with seven others, he has yet to land in India. Sources say that he might be back next week.
“As you know, all eight Indian nationals who were involved in the Dahra Global case have been released. Seven of them have returned to India. The eighth Indian national has certain requirements to fulfill, he will return as and when those are completed,” said Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs while addressing a weekly media briefing on Thursday.
Randhir Jaiswal did not elaborate on the requirements that Commander Tiwari needed to fulfill to ensure his return to India. Earlier, Commander Tiwari’s cousin, Dr. Meetu Bhargava, had expressed her joy upon hearing the news of his release, which she said would not have been possible without Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help.
Earlier, seven Indian Navy veterans who were sentenced to death in Qatar returned to India on February 12. The eight Indians were working for Doha-based Dahra Global and were taken into custody in August 2022.
The seven were identified as Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, and Sailor Rajesh.
Know Full Case
In August 2022, eight former Indian Navy personnel, all employees of the Al Dahra company, were arrested by Qatari authorities for alleged espionage. However, charges levelled against them were not made public by Qatar. On October 26, the Navy veterans were given death sentences by Qatar’s Court of First Instance after being convicted of espionage.
The charges were filed against the eight Indian Navy veterans on March 25, 2023, and they were tried under Qatari law.
All of the former Navy officers had “unblemished stints” of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and had held important positions including that of instructors in the force.
The eight Indian nationals were imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme. The retired naval personnel were sentenced to death by a Qatar court on charges that have not yet been made public officially.
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