On Monday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs reported that Qatar has released eight former Indian Navy officers after their death sentences, issued last year, were overturned. The credit for this decision is attributed to the Emir of Qatar, after more than 18 months of detention that posed a challenge to diplomatic relations between the two countries. The men were sentenced to death in October, with the sentences overturned in December.
Indian Foreign Minister told reporters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who "personally oversaw all developments" related to the case, will visit Qatar and hold talks with its Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. India stated that seven of those released have returned to the country, and efforts are underway to bring back the eighth individual. Some of these men shared with local media upon their arrival in New Delhi that Modi's intervention was pivotal in their release.
One of the men told Asian News International (ANI), "This would not have been possible without his personal intervention and settlement with Qatar." The names of the eight men were not disclosed. New Delhi engaged in months of talks with Qatar following the men's arrest in August 2022, which posed a challenge to relations with Doha, an important natural gas supplier to India, one of the world's largest energy importers.
An informed source noted that the men, who were employed by a private company, were providing support for several programs and activities of the Qatari Navy. The news of the release comes just days after Qatari and Indian companies signed the largest individual contract for liquefied natural gas supplies and after Modi met with Sheikh Tamim on the sidelines of the UN climate change summit (COP28) in Dubai, where they discussed "the status of the Indian community in Qatar." More than 800,000 Indian citizens live and work in Qatar.
