On Thursday (Nov 23, 2023) a Qatari court accepted the appeal filed by the Indian government related to the eight ex-Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death by a court last month.
The next hearing is expected to take place soon as the court said that it is studying the appeal made by the Indian side.
Background
Eight former officers of the Indian Navy were working for a company named Dehra Global Technology and Consultancy Services in Qatar. All of them were arrested in August 2022. The government of Qatar has so far not provided information about the allegations against former naval officers. However, on October 26, 2023, the Qatar court sentenced these former officers to death.
However, it is suspected these arrests have been made on charges of espionage. Qatari media claims that the former naval personnel were spying for Israel. So far, the Indian government too has not shared information about the allegations.
Qatar kept the action undercover
It is noteworthy that this matter was kept secret for several days after the arrest and even the officials of the Indian Embassy in Qatar were not informed about it. On October 1, 2022, the Indian Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission in Doha met these former officers. The first consular access was given on October 3, 2022. Charges were framed against all eight officers on 25 March 2023 and the trial began on 29 March. All were sentenced to death on 26 October 2023.
About the eight ex naval personnel
Former Navy officers who have been given death sentence in Qatar include Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugnakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh. Khamil Al Azmi, CEO of the company Dehra Global for which these Indians worked, had been an officer of the Oman Air Force. Azmi was also detained earlier but was later released.
All these officers have a distinguished service record of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and have held important posts in the navy including that of instructors.
So far …
The bail petitions filed have all been rejected several times and the Court of first Instance in Qatar pronounced the verdict against them – death penalty.
Meanwhile, as has been reported previously, the Ministry of External Affairs has urged everyone not to speculate, due to the sensitive nature of the case.
All of the former Navy officers have a distinguished service record of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and have held important positions including that of instructors in the force.