New Delhi, Jan 18
Ahead of filing an appeal in the Qatari Court soon, India has got consular access for its detained ex-Navy personnel in the Gulf country.
Confirming this to the media persons at the weekly briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs 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.”
Responding to media queries about consular access with ex-navy personnel, he said: “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.”
The Story So Far …
Eight Indian nationals have been incarcerated in Qatar since October 2022, facing accusations of espionage-related to a submarine program. These former naval personnel were initially handed a death sentence by a Qatar court, the specific charges of which have not been officially disclosed.
In a significant turn of events, the Qatari Court recently decided to commute the death penalty for these eight ex-Indian naval officers involved in the Dahra Global case, as communicated by the Ministry of External Affairs in a press statement. The severe sentence has now been replaced with imprisonment terms.
Providing insights into the recent judgement, the Ministry of External Affairs stated, “We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced.” The detailed judgement is eagerly awaited, and the ministry is in close contact with the legal team in Qatar to determine the next course of action.
Emphasizing continued support, in an earlier briefing the official spokesperson of MEA added, “We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps. Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family members. We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities.”
Jaiswal had highlighted the significance of the situation, noting, “As far as the issue is concerned, there is a time of 60 days when this issue can be appealed in the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar.” The Ministry of External Affairs possesses the confidential court order detailing the commutation of the death sentences to imprisonment terms, a revelation made in a press release following the court of appeal’s judgement on December 28.
“We issued a press release in which we informed you that the death sentence, which was originally a death penalty, has been changed to imprisonment sentence. Now our legal team has that court order, and I can confirm that all of them have received sentences of different durations, and the death penalty has been abolished,” clarified Jaiswal during a previous briefing.
Furthermore, the Court of First Instance of Qatar delivered the initial judgement against them, as has been reported according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.
And also highlighted a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad. They discussed bilateral partnership and the “well-being of the Indian community” in Qatar during the meeting on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai.