On Thursday, October 26, the Court of First Instance of Qatar awarded a death sentence to the eight decorated ex-Indian Navy officers whom the Qatari intelligence service had arrested in Doha last year on charges of espionage. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has reacted strongly to the verdict saying that India is “deeply shocked.” MEA added that it would continue to extend all consular and legal assistance to secure the release of the eight former Indian Navy officers.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of 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. 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. Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” the statement by MEA read.
It may be noted that since the eight former-Indian Navy officers were detained in August last year, their bail pleas have been rejected numerous times and their detention extended by Qatari authorities. The Qatari authorities had, however, until April this year, never specified the charges that had been pressed against them. Only recently did they confirm that the Indian Navy personnel, who were held in solitary confinement for long spells, have been charged with the offence of spying for Israel on the country’s advanced submarines.
One of the jailed officers, Commander Purnendu Tiwari (Retd), is the managing director of the firm that was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2019. The award was handed over by none other than the then-President Ram Nath Kovind. The other detained Indians are Navtej Singh Gill, Birendra Kumar Verma, Sugunakar Pakala, Sanjeev Gupta, Amit Nagpal, Rajesh Gopakumar, and Saurav Vashisht.
The eight Indians were working with the Qatari Emiri Navy, on behalf of the Qatar firm Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services which provided training and other technical assistance to them. The eight ex-Indian Navy officers were detained on August 30, 2022. The Qatari authorities reportedly accused them of spying for Israel on the country’s advanced submarines manufactured in Italy. These submarines are reportedly covered with metamaterials that enhance their stealth capabilities and make them harder to detect.
In April this year, reports emerged revealing that there is a possibility of the ex-Indian Navy officers being “framed” by Pakistani intelligence agencies. According to reports, the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI had persuaded the Qataris that there may have been Indian participation by citing the case of former Indian navy commander Kulbhushan Yadav, who was kidnapped from Iran and detained in Pakistan on suspicion of spying.
The Indian embassy, since the officers were detained by the Qatari authorities, has been making all possible efforts to bring them back. They have been facilitating regular visits to the family members and providing consular and legal assistance to the Navy personnel. Speaking of India’s position on the arrest of eight former Indian Navy personnel, MEA spokesperson Bagchi emphasised that the Centre was making “all efforts to assist these Indians.”
Now, in the midst of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the MEA shared the shocking information that the Qatar court has awarded death sentences to these eight decorated ex-Indian Navy officers. India has, however, vowed to explore all available legal options to secure the release of its citizens.