The Qatari authorities released eight Indian ex-servicemen, sentenced to death for espionage – for the benefit of Israel, according to information from Indian media -, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Delhi.

The Indian government has never released details of the eight Indian nationals or the crimes they allegedly committed, while Qatar has not publicly commented on the case or disclosed the indictment.

But Indian media reported that the men — among them former high-ranking naval officers, some of whom were captains of warships — were arrested in Doha in August 2022.

In October, Indian authorities said they were “shocked” by the death sentence of the men by an emirate court. India then said in December that their penalties had been “reduced”, without elaborating.

All of them were employees of Dahra, a Gulf-based company that offers “complete support solutions” in the aerospace, security and defense sectors, according to its website.

The Hindu newspaper reported that the men were allegedly spying on behalf of a “third country”, while according to information from the Times of India newspaper, they were accused of “spying on behalf of Israel”, specifically gathering information about a submarine.

Today, New Delhi announced that they had all been released. “The Indian government is pleased with the release of the eight Indian nationals working for Dahra Global who were detained in Qatar,” the foreign ministry said. “Seven of them have returned to India” already, added the announcement of the Indian diplomacy, which thanked the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, for the decision that allowed “the release and return” of the prisoners.

More than 800,000 Indians live and work in Qatar. The emirate is also among India’s main suppliers of natural gas.