New Delhi: India will not “interfere” in Qatari legal processes, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, April 6, after the Congress party raised questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged ‘reluctance’ to put pressure on the country to expedite the release eight retired Indian Navy officers.
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress party’s chief spokesperson, had said that the Modi government had “invested greatly” in improving relations with Qatar. However, the government has not made any efforts to expedite the release of the former Indian Navy officers, who have been detained without charges since August 30, 2022, he said. “An Omani national who had been arrested along with the ex-Navy personnel was released in November, the Indian citizens remain in detention,” Ramesh said in a statement.
He asked if this was because Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund “is a major investor in Adani Electricity Mumbai”. The statement added, “Is that why the relatives of the imprisoned ex-naval personnel are running from pillar to post for answers? Given the time elapsed, the Congress party urges the government to explain to the families and the people of India why our ex-servicemen are being treated in this manner.”
Here is my statement on the continued detention of retired Indian Navy personnel in Qatar a country with which Modani has a special relationship. Why has this relationship not helped the ex-servicemen so far? pic.twitter.com/JTtvnT3x8V
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 6, 2023
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However, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi responded that India will not “put pressure on Qatar” or interfere in Qatari legal processes, but is keeping a “close watch” on the case against the Indian nationals.
According to The Hindu, he said “putting pressure” would be a worrying route to take. “If I were to extrapolate that, it would be as if, if a country has good relations with India, their nationals would not be subject to our laws. I don’t think that’s the line that we want to take,” Bagchi said, according to the newspaper. He said “good relations” would not come in the way of a legal process.
Bagchi also gave an update about the case, stating that the case has been referred to the court by Qatar’s public prosecution and the first hearing was held on March 29. “Our embassy continues to remain in touch with the families of the detained Indian nationals and also extending necessary consular as well as legal assistance. We have also requested for another round of consular access. Government attaches high priority to the matter and remains engaged with the Qatari authorities regarding the case. I don’t think the charges have yet been opened. The legal process is underway and we will keep a close watch on that,” he said, according to The Hindu.
The eight Navy veterans in custody 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. Qatar has granted consular access to the captive former officials thrice. They were employed by a Qatari consultancy firm which works with the Qatari defence forces. The men were involved in training the Qatari navy.
While the reasons for their arrest are yet unknown, news reports have speculated that the detention may have been sparked by Qatari officials’ suspicion may have been sparked by a “friendly conversation” between the eight ex-Navy men and an Indian diplomat posted in Doha three months before their arrest.
