‘Deeply shocked,’ says India as 8 former Navy personnel get death penalty in Qatar

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Oct 26, 2023: A court in Qatar on Thursday sentenced as many as eight former Indian Navy personnel to death who were detained in the country for over a year. Responding to the verdict, the Indian government has expressed its deep shock and said that it is exploring all legal actions possible.

 

"We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement.

"We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities," it added.

However, MEA, in its statement also acknowledged the confidential nature of the proceedings and declined to comment further at the moment.

In August 2022, Qatar detained eight former Indian Navy officers on suspicion of working as spies for Israel while they were employed by a company in Qatar.

The former Indian Navy officers — Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh — were arrested by Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022.

The bail pleas of the Navy veterans were rejected several times by Qatari authorities. The death penalty was announced by a Court of First Instance of Qatar earlier in the day.

According to media reports, the Navy veterans faced allegations of espionage related to a submarine program on Israel’s behalf. Qatari authorities have additionally claimed that they hold electronic evidence pertaining to the matter.

Courtesy: India Today