Qatar court accepts India’s application, 8 former Navy officers awarded death sentence hope for relief

A court in Qatar on Thursday accepted an appeal filed by the Indian government regarding the death sentence awarded to eight former Indian Navy personnel by a court last month. The court said that they are studying the appeal and the next hearing is expected soon. In October, a court in Qatar sentenced eight former Indian Navy personnel to death after being detained in the country for more than a year.

The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday (23 November), “The decision is confidential. The court of first instance issued a verdict, which was shared with our legal team. An appeal has been filed considering all legal options. We are in touch with Qatari authorities.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is in talks with Qatari authorities on the matter and the government will continue to provide all legal and consular assistance to the former naval personnel.

In August 2022, Qatar detained eight former Indian Navy officers on suspicion of working as spies for Israel while they were employed at a company based in the Middle Eastern country. The former officers – Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh – were arrested by the Qatar intelligence agency on August 30 from Doha.

The navy veterans’ bail petitions were rejected several times by Qatari authorities. In October this year, Qatar’s first instance court had announced the death sentence.