In some good news for Indian diplomacy, the eight Indian Navy veterans who had been served death sentence in Qatar have been released. Seven of them are already back in India, the government said, welcoming the big decision.

“The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar. Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, the capital punishment for the jailed Indian Navy veterans was commuted to an extended prison term after diplomatic talks between Qatar and India.

The eight Indian nationals, formerly Indian Navy personnel, were imprisoned n Qatar in October 2022 after being accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme. They Indian nationals were deemed guilty of espionage by the Qatari court, and were sentenced to death on charges not yet made public.

The case saw a major development last year when the court in Qatar commuted the death sentence of the Indian nationals after intervention by the India government. The sentence was reduced to jail terms.