Qatar releases eight former Indian navy officers more than 18 months after their arrest.
The men were accused of spying for Israel and were sentenced to death in Oct. 2023.
However, both India and Qatar did not confirm the charges against them. The death sentences were dropped in Dec. 2023.India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Qatar to meet Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani on Feb. 14, according to India’s foreign secretary.
Modi had previously met Qatar’s top leader in Dec. 2023 on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.Diplomatic ties between the nations had grown tense when the men were arrested.
Doha is a crucial natural gas supplier to India, with 800,000 Indian nationals currently working in Qatar, making up an essential part of the small Gulf nation’s workforce. The release of the jailed men comes days after Qatari and Indian firms signed their biggest single deal for supplies of liquefied natural gas.Credit: CGTN