Qatar frees Indian Navy veterans: Who are the 8 personnel? A detailed chronology of the case
Indian Navy veterans and freeing them of espionage charges marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough between India and Qatar. The former Indian Navy personnel are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purenendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh. All of these former Navy officers had "unblemished stints" of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy.
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, former military officials had said as reported by news agency PTI. As per the news agency, among these veterans, Captain Gill was awarded the President's Gold Medal for excellence when he had graduated from the Naval Academy and had later served as an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington in Tamil Nadu. August 2022: The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August reportedly in an alleged case of espionage.
October 2022: The eight Indian nationals were imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme. March 2023: The charges were filed against the eight Indian Navy veterans on March 25 and they were tried under Qatari law. May 2023: In May, Al-Dhara Global closed its operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home.
October 2023: The eight Indians were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance. India described the ruling as "deeply" shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case. 9 November 2023: A
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