8 ex-Indian Navy men in Qatari custody: Delhi sent official to Doha, no breakthrough so far
With the eight men still not free — Tuesday marked 71 days in custody — more appeals have surfaced on social media, asking the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers to speed up efforts for their release.
With the eight men still not free — Tuesday marked 71 days in custody — more appeals have surfaced on social media, asking the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers to speed up efforts for their release.
indianexpress.com
Delhi dispatched a senior official to Doha to lend weight to its embassy’s efforts to secure the release of eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been in Qatari custody since August-end.
The Indian Express has learnt that the official travelled to Doha towards the end of October.
With the eight men still not free — Tuesday marked 71 days in custody — more appeals have surfaced on social media, asking the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers to speed up efforts for their release. The appeals point to growing concern among family members that
Delhi has still not been able to secure their release.
Over the last 10 days, the government has been in negotiations with the Qatar government, but there’s no word yet of any breakthrough. Last week, it seemed there were some indications including the grant of a second consular visit — the first visit was last month — that the men might be released within days, but this hope was belied.
Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, the company at which the eight were employed, was training the Qatari Emiri Navy and providing other services such as logistics and equipment maintenance.
The Indian embassy in Doha became aware of the arrest of the eight in mid-September, about two weeks after they were picked on August 30 by the State Security Bureau, Qatar’s intelligence agency. At the end of September, the men were allowed to speak to their families on the phone. On October 3, the men were granted consular access — a visit by an official of the embassy. A second consular access was granted in the first week of November.
