Shashi Tharoor reacts to release of Indian Navy veterans by Qatar

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday described Qatar’s release of eight former Indian Navy personnel as a “matter of quiet celebration”.

Taking to X (formally Twitter) Shashi Tharoor posted, “It’s a huge relief —and a matter of quiet celebration for all Indians — that eight of our compatriots who were sentenced to death in Qatar have been freed & returned home. Congratulations to all those who worked quietly behind the scenes for their release.”

Earlier, reacting to the development Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote, “The Indian National Congress joins the entire nation in its relief and happiness that the eight former Indian Navy personnel earlier sentenced to death by a court in Qatar have been released and are back home. It sends its greetings and good wishes to them and their families.”

The ministry of external affairs in a statement released on Monday said seven of the eight former Indian Navy personnel working for the Dahra Global Company returned to India from Qatar.

In December 2023, a Qatari court reversed the death penalty of the eight Indian Navy veterans who were arrested in the Dahra Global case. Though the court did not disclose the charges against the Navy veterans, reports claimed they were accused of espionage.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval undertook a number of quiet trips to Doha in recent times to ensure the release of the Indian Navy personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai and discussed bilateral partnership and the “well-being of the Indian community” living in Qatar.

Last month, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs Randhir Jaiswal also spoke about the issue. Jaiswal said that “as far as the issue is concerned, there is a time of 60 days when this issue can be appealed in the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar.”

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