8 ex-Indian Navy officers awarded death penalty in Qatar

The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it was is "deeply shocked" by the verdict of death penalty given to 8 ex-Indian Navy officers in Qatar.

New Delhi: The Court of First instance of Qatar has passed a verdict of death penalty for the eight former naval officers who were detained in Doha, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The MEA said it is “deeply shocked” by the verdict and now awaits the detailed judgement.

“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” the MEA said in an official press release.

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“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,” it added.

This matter is very important to us, the MEA said adding that and they have been keeping a close eye on it. “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 MEA release said.

“Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” it added.

The eight Indian nationals have been imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme.

New Delhi had been granted consular access to the eight Indians and had been working to secure their release. The Indian nationals had their first trial in late March. Meetu Bhargava, who is the sister of one the officers detained and lives in Gwalior, sought help from the Indian government to bring her brother back.

In a post on X on June 8 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 pl. @narendramodi @AmitShah @rajnathsingh @MOS_MEA” she posted on X.