Eight former Indian Navy personnel working with a Qatari company were sentenced to death by a local court in Doha on 26 October in an alleged espionage case.
The Indian government expressed shock at the verdict by the Gulf State, saying it is in touch with the family members of the navy officers and the legal team as it explores all legal options.
Overview
Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purenendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh are the eight people accused in the case.
A Qatari court handing down the death sentence to eight former Indian navy personnel is a huge foreign policy challenge for India.
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) October 27, 2023
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The retired naval officials were working for Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services, advising the Qatari government on acquiring submarines.
According to its website, Al Dahra is a Gulf-based company that offers “complete support solutions” to the aerospace, security, and defence sectors. The company was shut down in May 2023.
As per media reports, the officials have been awarded a death sentence for spying on Qatar’s military submarine program for Israel.
The Indian nationals were arrested in August 2022 on unspecified charges and were kept in solitary confinement for a long period.
A month after their detention, the bail plea of the jailed officers was rejected in September 2022.
The detainees were granted official consular access in October and December last year. The first trial in the case was held in March, while the second trial took place in June this year.
The Indian Ambassador to Qatar met the accused on 1 October after they were granted consular access. The seventh hearing in the case took place on 3 October, and the Indian government said that it was following the proceedings in the “court of first instance.”
India’s Response
Responding to the verdict, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement.”
“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,” the statement read.
Who are the 8 #IndianNavy #veterans sentenced to death by a court in #Qatar, here is the list | https://t.co/UAsuJPUTaz pic.twitter.com/7BoDQforZX
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) October 26, 2023
The Ministry mentioned that owing to the confidential nature of the proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture.
India-Qatar Ties
The latest incident could strain ties between Qatar and India.
Last year, the two nations saw a souring of ties when a BJP spokesperson made derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed, drawing flak from Qatar.
Following the incident, Qatar summoned the Indian Ambassador Deepak Mittal and cancelled a lunch hosted by the Emir for Indian Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.
India responded to the allegations by saying that the views were of fringe elements and did not reflect the views of the Indian government.
Despite occasional hurdles, the two nations enjoy noteworthy economic and diplomatic ties, with bilateral trade valued at $15 billion in 2021-22 and over 840,000 Indian workers employed in the Gulf state.