It's a big victory for India, as Qatar has freed eight former Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death after being detained in August 2022 on undeclared charges.

New Delhi has announced on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Doha this week to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations, as reported by HindustanTimes.

In a surprising turn of events, the external affairs ministry announced early on Monday that the eight men had been released on the orders of the emir of Qatar, marking a significant diplomatic breakthrough for New Delhi. All but one of the former naval personnel returned home on Monday, and their release ended widespread speculation about their fate following their detention.

Speaking to the media after reaching Delhi, one of the veterans said, “We are very happy that we are back in India, safely. Definitely, we would like to thank PM Modi, as this was only possible because of his personal intervention.”

In December last year, Qatar’s Court of Appeal commuted the death sentences awarded to the men — Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh — and sentenced them to prison for varying durations ranging from three years to 25 years.