Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,OCTO 30: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the families of eight Indians, who have been given death penalties in Qatar. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he said that he emphasised to the detained Indians that the Indian government gives “the highest importance to the case”.

“Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that [the] government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,” his post on the microblogging site read.

As many as eight former Indian Navy personnel were given capital punishment last week by a court in Qatar on alleged charges of spying for Israel, news agency Reuters reported, quoting sources in India and the Arab nation privy to the matter. The Indian nationals were arrested by the Qatari intelligence agency in August 2022, but charges against them were not officially disclosed by either New Delhi or Doha.

Jaishankar’s “highest importance” remark is a reiteration of the External Affairs Ministry’s earlier statement wherein it said that India will continue to “extend all consular and legal assistance” to the detained Indians in Qatar and will take up the verdict with Qatari authorities as well.

“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in an official statement.

However, MEA also acknowledged the confidential nature of the proceedings and refused to comment further at the moment.

The eight Indians have the option to appeal their death sentences, a source familiar with the development in the case earlier told Reuters.

Both the Indian and Qatari foreign ministries, however, have refrained from commenting on the claims made by these sources to Reuters. There has also been no immediate response from the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, which oversees Israel’s intelligence services.

According to media reports, the Navy veterans faced espionage allegations related to a submarine programme on Israel’s behalf. Qatari authorities have additionally alleged that they hold electronic evidence pertaining to the matter.

Who are Navy veterans

The former Indian Navy officers are 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.

They were all arrested by the Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022.

The bail pleas of the Navy veterans were dismissed multiple times by Qatari authorities.

-PTI