An Appellate Court in Qatar on Thursday commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel, who are on death row in the Arab nation in an alleged case of espionage, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“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 MEA said in a statement.
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It said the detailed judgement in the case was awaited and that the Indian authorities were in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members of the eight Indians 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 we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities,” the MEA said.
The ministry, however, added that due to the confidential and sensitive nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture.
The eight Indians were handed the death sentence by a court in Qatar in October. India had termed the ruling “deeply shocking”, and an appeal was filed in the case in November.
The Indian nationals were arrested in August 2022 on charges which have not been made public by the Qatari authorities although reports say they were charged with spying for Israel.
The eight have been identified as Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.
India has been relentlessly pursuing the case with the Qatari authorities. The Qatari authorities have provided at least three consular access to the eight Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai early this month.
