NEW DELHI: As the families of the eight Indian naval veterans, held captive in Doha since August 2022, gear up for the next hearing on Thursday (November 30), there is a reason for them to cheer. Qatar’s interior ministry has given the men access to fitness-related activities such as a gym.
“The mental health of these eight navy men was being impacted from the time they were picked up. Some of them withdrew into a shell due to the uncertainty, solitary confinement (which was later converted into twin-sharing) and the announcement of death penalty. The Qatar’s interior ministry has recently permitted these eight men to take part in some fitness activities and play sports including badminton and tennis,” said a source.
The weekly phone calls with family members continue. Also, the acceptance of their appeal by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on November 23 had brought some respite. The acceptance of the appeal implies that Qatar will keep India in the loop before executing any punishment on these men.
“With the next hearing slated for Thursday, there are a lot of concerns on what the court will announce for these men. The families will continue to be on tenterhooks till they are repatriated,” the source added.
Meanwhile, some family members are optimistic that the Emir of Qatar will pardon the men on the country’s upcoming National Day on December 18.
“We can only be optimistic that our naval veterans are pardoned and repatriated. It has been a long and gruelling tenure for them in prison since August 30, 2022,” the source added. The eight navy veterans were working in their private capacity with Dahra Global to oversee the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2 when they were picked by Qatar police.