Indian Ambassador To Qatar Meets 8 Ex-Indian Navy Personnel, Looks After Their Well-Being

indian ambassador to qatar meets 8 ex-indian navy personnel, looks after their well-being

In a recent development in the Qatari court commuting the death sentence given to eight former Indian Navy personnel, the Indian Ambassador to Qatar and other embassy officials got consular access to the 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel on Thursday, January 18.

On Qatar court commuting death sentence to 8 Indian ex-Navy personnel, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Our ambassador, along with our embassy officials, met the eight detained. As we had conveyed to you last time, the legal team is looking into the appeal aspect. There is a period of 60 days within which they have to file this appeal. On December 28, the court of appeal had given their verdict. Now, the matter is to go to the court of secession, which will be decided by the legal team…We still have some time. The consular access we had, our ambassador went and met and looked after their well-being.”

A day after the Court of Appeal of Qatar commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel, the Ministry of External Affairs on December 29 said it would discuss the next possible steps with the legal team and the family members of the convicted men, reported ANI quoting MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

“The sentences have been reduced but I don’t have any additional information to share until we see the detailed judgement. We would urge you again not to engage in speculation. The interests of Indians and their family members are our foremost concern. We will also be discussing the next possible steps with the legal team and the family members,” ANI quoted Bagchi as saying.

On December 28, a Qatar Court commuted the death penalty for eight former-Indian naval officers, arrested in 2022 in the Dahra Global case.

In a story shrouded with utmost mystery, a Qatar court in October announced death penalty for eight retired Indian Navy personnel who were arrested in 2022.

Qatar’s Intelligence Agency, on August 30 at midnight, picked up the men from their homes. They were reportedly working for a defence services provider company — Dahra Global Technologies in Qatar. And since then, all 8 former Indian Navy personnel have been kept in solitary confinement, denied bail. Surprisingly, the Qatari authorities did not specify the reason for the detenstion to the families of the eight men.