Qatar court accepts India’s appeal against death penalty to 8 ex-Navy personnel

A Qatari court on Thursday accepted the appeal filed by the Indian government in connection with the death penalty given to eight ex-Indian Navy personnel by a court last month.

The court said that they are studying the appeal and the next hearing is expected soon, sources. In October, a court in Qatar sentenced as many as eight former Indian Navy personnel to death after they were detained in the country for over a year.

The MEA on Thursday (November 23) said, “The judgment is confidential. There is a court of first instance that gave the judgment, which was shared with our legal team. Considering all legal options, an appeal has been filed. We are in touch with the Qatari authorities.”

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is engaged with the Qatari authorities on the matter and that the government will continue to extend all legal and consular assistance to the former Navy personnel.

In August 2022, Qatar detained eight former Indian Navy officers on suspicion of working as spies for Israel while they were employed by a company based in the Middle Eastern nation. The former officers — 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 — were arrested by Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022.

The bail pleas of the Navy veterans were rejected several times by Qatari authorities. The death penalty was announced by the Court of First Instance of Qatar in October this year.