NEW DELHI: It's been three weeks since individual charges were levelled against the eight former Indian navy veterans in Doha. However, there is no clarity on what these charges are.
The second judicial hearing under Qatari law is expected in May and the Indian embassy in Doha is providing consular and legal assistance.
“We are engaged with the Qatari authorities and are in touch with the families of the officers living in Doha,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told The New Indian Express.
The officers are calling their families every week back home in India, but from hope and optimism of repatriation, fear of the unknown has set in.
The officials were made to sign some documents on the day the charges were levelled against them and nobody has a clue on what they could be as details aren’t known yet.
The judicial trial is based on Qatari law and there is no clarity on what this beholds. Dahra Consultancies is taking care of the incidentals it is learnt.
The loss is not just in terms of the time that has gone by since the fateful night of August 30, 2022 when these eight were picked up individually from their houses by officials of Qatar’s interior ministry -- but also of events. Marriages of children have taken place without the fathers gracing the occasion, some children have joined university while others have taken up jobs.
The most tragic is the condition of the mothers of these veterans who are over 80 years old and have no clue on how much longer they may have to wait to see their sons in person again.