Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met the family members of eight ex-naval officers who have been given death sentence by a court in Qatar, reportedly over snooping charges. In a social media post, the Union minister said that he shared “the pain of the families” and that the government will “continue to make all efforts” to secure their release.
“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,” Jaishankar wrote in a post on Twitter, now renamed X.
The meeting comes after the family members expressed their concerns and demanded immediate intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, the sister of one of the former Indian Navy officers said that “the time is running” and PM Modi should directly intervene.
On October 26, the eight former Indian Navy personnel were sentenced to death by a Qatar court after their arrest on undisclosed charges in August last year. However, some media reports claimed they were arrested on charges of espionage on behalf of Israel.
All of them worked for a private company named Dahra Global at the time of their arrest.
Reacting to their death sentence, the external affairs ministry had earlier expressed its “deep shock” and said that it was exploring all the legal options to challenge the Qatar court verdict.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the 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,” the MEA said in an 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 MEA statement added.