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India granted second consular access to former Navy officers sentenced to death in Qatar
India's Ministry of External Affairs has been granted second consular access to the eight former Indian Navy officers who were sentenced to death by the Qatar Court on charges of spying on behalf of Israel. India is also in touch with Qatari authorities and providing legal assistance to the men.
India's ministry of External Affairs has informed that they have been granted second consular access to the eight former Indian Navy officers who were sentenced to death by the Qatar Court on charges of spying on behalf oof Israel.
"Qatar has a court first instance that gave the judgment on eight Indian employees. The judgement is confidential and has been shared with the legal team. An appeal has been filed in this regard. We are also in touch with Qatari authorities," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.
Indian authorities are also in touch with the family members of the eight men, minister S Jaishankar met them , the spokesperson said adding that India will continue providing legal assistance to them.
The court sentenced eight former Indian Navy officials to death on October 26 on undisclosed charges. All of them were employees of Doha-based Dahra Global and were arrested in August 2022 for espionage. India called the ruling deeply shocking and deployed all diplomatic channels to engage with Qatar on this case.
The arrested Indians were identified as 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 – all ex-Indian Navy.
India's ambassador to Qatar had met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.
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Timeline of events
August 2022
Qatari authorities took former Indian naval officers into custody on unspecified charges. After months of detention, the Qatari authorities revealed that the eight former naval officers were spying on Qatar’s secret submarine program for Israel.
The incident came to limelight when the Indian Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) termed it a “high priority" issue.
September 2022
The first bail plea of the jailed Indian officers was held a month after they were picked up and detained in solitary confinement. The plea was rejected
According to reports, New Delhi had consular access to the eight prisoners and has tried to secure their release, but has been told by Doha that evidence suggests the former officers passed on intelligence to Israel.
Qatari authorities have additionally claimed that they hold electronic evidence of the matter.
March 2023
The Indian nationals had their first trial in late March
June 2023
The second trial was conducted in June 2023, Al Jazeera reports.
October 2023
India's ambassador to Qatar met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the seventh hearing in the case was held on October 3 and that India is following the proceedings in the "court of first instance".
The eight Indian Navy personnel were on 26 October handed the death penalty in Qatar by a local court.
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Business NewsNewsWorldIndia granted second consular access to former Navy officers sentenced to death in Qatar
First Published:9 Nov 2023, 07:35 PM IST
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