DOHA: At least eight Indians were among a number of prisoners granted the Emiri pardon on Qatar’s National Day on December 18. Diplomatic circles say a total of 60 prisoners of various nationalities were pardoned this year.
The pardoned Indians were convicted for various crimes and were serving varying jail terms. They were from different regions of India. While five of them were Muslims, two were Hindus and one Christian.
The crimes for which the Indians were convicted included adultery, bribery (two convicts), causing accidental death, entering into other’s property without permission, fraud and issuing cheques without sufficient bank balance.
According to information available, there were a total of 47 Indians in Qatar’s central prison before the pardon. The number is since reduced to 39. The Indian embassy, like the embassies of other countries, keeps forwarding pardon requests to the Qatari government for its consideration. Emiri pardons are granted only to convicts and not to undertrials.THE PENINSULA
