Qatar government has granted amnesty to 19 Nepali migrants who were serving prison time or languishing in jail for failing to post bail amount.

Most of them, who were granted amnesty on the occasion of Eid, were arrested for the use or in possession of narcotics. Nepali Ambassador to Qatar Ganesh Dhakal said the migrants would be sent home after finishing some official procedures. He said they are transferred to the returnee’s camp and awaiting their flight back home. According to the Nepali Embassy in Qatar, there are 46 Nepalis serving prison time in the country for a variety of offences.

Among the 19 Nepalis, Lok Bahadur Chettri from Myagdi was arrested from a local airport in 2012 in possession of pickle made of cannabis plant. Though the embassy and the company where he worked as a driver tried for his release earlier, their efforts were fruitless. The embassy had even forwarded an official letter to the concerned authorities trying to convince them that the pickle was a common culinary item in Nepal. He was scheduled to be released on bail on September 16 but was not in a condition to manage the amount.

Likewise, Shiva Mandal was also imprisoned under the narcotics charge and was supposed to post a bail amounting to 215,000 Riyals. He was sentenced to four years in prison on August 7, 2012.

Similarly, Mumtaz Ansari, another Nepali who was granted amnesty, was imprisoned under narcotics charge and slapped with a bail amount of 200,000 Riyals. Though he had finished his jail term in February, he was stuck in the prison as he failed to post the bail amount.

Published on: 31 July 2014 | The Kathmandu Post