- 8 Former Indian Navy Officers Handed Death Penalty; MEA to Explore ‘All Legal Options’
- “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment,” the Indian foreign ministry said.
- The men were working for a private firm and were detained without charges in August 2022.
- Media reports suggesting that they had been charged with espionage and their bail pleas were rejected multiple times.
- All eight Indian men were reportedly contracted to provide training to the Qatar Navy.
- According to media reports, the former naval officers are accused of espionage on behalf of Israel related to Qatar’s submarine programme.
- Qatar had reportedly claimed to have electronic evidence pertaining to the allegations.
Eight former Indian Navy personnel have been handed the death penalty in Qatar. Calling the judgment “shocking”, the foreign ministry said it would not comment given the “confidential nature of proceedings” but assured that it would contest the judgment.
The men, including decorated officers who once commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces. Sources said some of them were working on a highly sensitive project — Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics. Reports claim they have been accused of spying.
The men have been in jail since August 2022. Granted consular access to them, New Delhi has been working to secure their release. The men went to trial in March. Their bail pleas were rejected numerous times and their detention was extended by Qatari authorities. Today, the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed a judgment.
Those sentenced are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta, and Sailor Ragesh.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” the foreign ministry said in a 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,” the ministry statement read.
Meetu Bhargava, the sister of one of the former officers detained, had sought help from the government to bring her brother back. In a post on X, she had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.
“These Ex-Navy officers are the pride of the nation & again I request our Hon’ble Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all are brought back to India immediately without any further delay,” read her post, tagged to PM Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.
The opposition Congress party’s chief spokesperson, Jairam Ramesh, said that it learnt with the “greatest anguish” about the death sentence imparted to the eight former defence officers. “The Indian National Congress hopes and expects that the Govt of India will use its diplomatic and political leverage with the Qatar government to the maximum to ensure that the officers have full recourse to appeals and also do the utmost to get them released at the earliest,” he tweeted.
(With inputs from agencies)
