The eighth Indian Navy veteran — Commander Purnendu Tiwari — is yet to return from Qatar, confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday. Earlier on February 12, the Ministry had announced that all the eight persons who were on death row in Qatar had been released. However, Commander Tiwari was not among those who were brought back.
“The Eighth Indian navy veteran from Qatar is yet to return to India. He has certain requirements to fulfill,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
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The eight Indian Navy veterans were sentenced to death by a Qatari court in October 2023 but the sentence was subsequently commuted by a court of appeal in Doha in December. Seven of the accused were brought back to India by a passenger flight hours after the court’s order.
The individuals were taken into custody on August 30, 2022 regarding a case that never was explained in detail to the media. However, it was generally understood that it had to do with an alleged intelligence operation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar on February 15 and invited the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim to visit India.
