Qatar has commuted death sentence for eight Indian Navy veterans and turned that into “varying quantum” of jail terms, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, putting out the official confirmation about the high-profile case regarding the men who were arrested by the Gulf country in August 2022. Addressing the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the legal team had been given 60 days to appeal against the jail terms.
“On December 28, the Court of Appeal in Qatar gave a verdict in which the death sentence was commuted and replaced with varying quantum of jail terms. Our legal team has received the copy of the court’s order, which is a confidential document. But I can confirm that the death sentence has been removed,” said Mr. Jaiswal.
The case involving the eight Indian former Navy personnel came to prominence because of strict secrecy that both Qatar and India have maintained regarding the proceedings that took place over the past several months. India was “deeply shocked” when a trial court in Qatar handed death sentence to the accused on October 26. In the meanwhile, officials here informed that the Indian Embassy in Qatar had got consular access to the men in custody.
Outlining a plan for the future, Mr. Jaiswal said the court had given 60 days to the Indian legal team to appeal against the jail terms. “As far as the next step is concerned, 60 days are there when the matter can come up for appeal in the Court of Cassation which is the highest court of Qatar,” said Mr Jaiswal. It is understood that the 60 days will be counted from the day of the latest order that commuted the death penalty.
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Consular access
Qatar, a strong regional player, is a key supplier of energy to India and at least seven lakh Indians form a part of the foreign work force in the Gulf nation. Both sides have not revealed the details of the case that cast a shadow on bilateral relation over the past 16 months. India maintained close contact with the families of the eight men in the backdrop of the high tension case and extended necessary legal help. The MEA had informed earlier that Indian diplomats stationed in Qatar were granted consular access to the men on three occasions by the authorities in Doha.
Though the details of the case are not in the public domain, it was speculated that the matter pertains to defence secrets of the Qatari military forces. The eight Indian nationals, who are highly regarded for their domain knowledge, were employed by Dahra Global, an entity that catered to Qatar’s expanding basket of defence projects. Dahra Global was shut down after the case came to light.
