New Delhi: The sister of Commander Purnendu Tiwary, the only one of eight former Indian Navy veterans still held in Qatar, described his continued detention in the Gulf state as a “humanitarian failure,” alleging that the veteran remains in jail despite a recent court ruling clearing him of wrongdoing.In response to media queries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that Tiwary is currently serving a sentence in a case that is distinct from the original matter involving the other seven Navy veterans.“The eighth naval veteran, he has a particular case against him. He was detained in that. It has nothing to do with the earlier case,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing. He added that a court in Qatar has given a ruling under which a sentence has been handed down, and that the Indian government remains in touch with the family and legal counsel.The spokesperson’s statement follows a detailed social media post from Meetu Bhargava, Tiwary’s sister, who called the government’s failure to secure his return “entirely indefensible.”Bhargava noted that while the Indian government had publicly stated in February 2024 that all eight veterans had returned home, Tiwary was left behind in Doha. She challenged the government’s earlier explanation of “paper formalities”, noting that more than two years have passed since the others returned.“This is not a delay – it is a humanitarian failure,” Bhargava said, adding that the 65-year-old veteran, who had also been conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019, is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other serious medical conditions. She warned that his health is deteriorating rapidly and that “every passing day increases the risk to his life”. She added his 87-year-old mother was still waiting for his return.The account of the judicial proceedings by Tiwary’s sister, who had periodically appealed on X about her brother, differed sharply from the MEA.According to the family, the current case against Tiwary involves financial allegations that were “stitched out of the very same case” for which he had already received a pardon, and that the company’s CEO had implicated him in an attempt to shift blame.Bhargava claimed that the Qatar High Court rejected these allegations in a judgment on March 12 and declared the veteran innocent.The eight veterans were arrested in Qatar in August 2022 while employed with Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a Doha-based firm that was advising the Qatari government on submarine acquisition. The charges against them were never made public by either government. Media reports at the time, citing unnamed sources, suggested they had been accused of spying for Israel, an allegation that was never formally accepted by either New Delhi or Doha.They were convicted and sentenced to death by a Qatari court in October 2023. The death sentences were commuted on appeal in December 2023.Seven of the veterans returned to India in February 2024 following a pardon by Qatar’s Emir.Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told reporters that day that the government was working with Qatar to determine how quickly Commander Tiwary’s return could be arranged. At a subsequent briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Tiwary had “certain requirements to fulfill” and would return “as and when those are completed.”He was held back due to a travel ban linked to financial irregularities at Dahra Global. That travel ban led to a separate set of charges, under which he was arrested in December 2025.When the MEA first addressed his arrest in January 2026, Jaiswal said the Indian Embassy in Doha was extending “all possible consular help” and that apart from Tiwary, several others of other nationalities had also been arrested in the same case. He described the matter as sub judice.