On Thursday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that eight former Indian Navy officials imprisoned in Qatar have been given 60 days to appeal their prison terms.
The Navy Veterans had previously been awarded death penalties in an espionage case, however, this sentence was commuted last week.
60 Days to Appeal
The MEA mentioned that “the court has given 60 days for the appeal to be made before the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar.”
It said that the next course of action will be decided by the legal team now.
MEA on 8 Indian naval veterans in Qatar @NewIndianXpress @MEAIndia @IndEmbDoha @indiannavy pic.twitter.com/Zi7eUtc6bV
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The MEA confirmed that in the 28 December judgment by the Court of Appeal in Qatar, the death sentence was commuted to a prison sentence.
“Our legal team has the court’s order, which is a confidential document,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“But I can confirm this that each individual involved has received different sentences, and the death penalty has been abolished,” he stated.
Death Sentence Commuted
After hearings on 23 November, 30 November and 7 December, the fourth hearing of the case was held on 28 December, when the appeal sentences were commuted.
As per unofficial reports, the accused have been granted varying death sentences ranging from 3-25 years of imprisonment.
The lowest sentence is for Sailor Ragesh, while the others have been given sentences of 10-25 years.
Espionage Case
“Our legal team is working on this issue, and we are in discussion with the families and the legal team,” the MEA clarified.
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.
The retired Naval officials were employed with Qatar’s Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services.
As per reports, they were charged with spying for Israel on Qatar’s submarine program.
The accused, who have been in jail since August 2022, were awarded a death sentence in October.
India expressed shock at the award of the death sentence and filed a formal appeal against it.
In December, Indian PM Narendra Modi also raised the issue in his meeting with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at the COP28 Summit in Dubai.