Return of 8 naval veterans to India remains a question mark

The death sentence against 8 Indian Naval veterans has been commuted to lesser punishment in Qatar. But they cannot be repatriated to India to serve the jail sentence because of technical issues regarding the repatriation treaty.

As of now, the naval veterans' death penalty has been commuted to jail terms – which varies for each of them ranging from 3 years to 25 years. The case will be tried in the cassation court now

India and Qatar had signed a treaty in 2015 for the transfer of sentenced prisoners between the two countries. However, since the treaty wasn’t ratified by Qatar, its provisions could not be used to bring back the eight naval veterans who are under detention in Doha since August 30, 2022. It was signed during the visit of the then Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Attiyah

"Once a treaty like this one is signed, both nations have to ratify it. Not sure whether Qatari side ratified it. We did ratify it in India," said MEA spokesperson ArindamBagchi.

After the signing of the treaty, within 90 days it has to be ratified by either side and the paper of ratification has to be shared with the other country. However, no such document on behalf of Qatar is available with India.

"Last year the eight naval officers, a few months after being kept under detention and solitary confinement, were asked by Qatar’s ministry of interior to return to their homes, pack their bags following which they would be sent back to India. And when they did return with their bags, instead of being sent to India, they went back into detention. It is possible that India was exploring their transfer under the agreement but since it wasn’t ratified, it didn’t translate into reality," according to sources