Clarifying the status of the eighth former Indian Navy officer, who was put on death row by a Qatar court in an espionage case before being released, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said he has certain requirements to fulfil.
The eighth Indian national will return as soon as he fulfils all the requirements, the MEA stated in a briefing on Thursday.
Addressing the press briefing on Thursday, the official spokesperson of the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal said, "As you know, all 8 Indian nationals who were involved in the Al Dahra Global case, have been released."
"Seven of them have returned to India...the eighth Indian national has certain requirements to fulfil. He will return as and when those are completed. So, that is where we are on the 8th national," Mr Jaiswal added.
Amid desperate pleas by the anxious family members of the Navy veterans to secure their release and safe passage back to their homeland, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had assured that it would mobilise all diplomatic channels and arrange legal assistance to bring them back.
The Navy veterans--Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh--were detained in August 2022.
On December 28, 2023, Qatar's Court of Appeal commuted the death penalty awarded to all eight men in October 2023.
The eight Indian nationals, imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022, were accused of spying on a submarine programme. The retired naval personnel were sentenced to death by a Qatar court on charges that had not yet been made public officially.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai and discussed bilateral partnerships and the "well-being of the Indian community" in Qatar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Strong India-US Ties Regardless Of Who Is President, Says Congressman Ami Bera
Al Jassasiya: The Qatar's Largest Rock Art Site Which Has 900 Ancient Carvings Airline CEO Saves Stranded US Woman In Qatar After Coffee Shop Encounter Ukraine, Russia To Exchange 13 Children Displaced After War Started Renowned Singer Sharda Sinha, A Padma Bhushan Recipient, Dies At 72 Results Are Already Out In This US Hamlet. The Winner Is... Equatorial Guinea Civil Servant's Over 400 Sex Tapes Spark Massive Row EICMA 2024: All-New Hero XPulse 210 Unveiled Trump Says He Would Concede Defeat "If It's A Fair Election" How The Cold Sore Virus Can Reach And Infect Your Brain Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.