A Qatari court has handed down the death penalty to eight former Indian Navy personnel who were detained in Doha in 2022.
The reasons for their detention by Qatari authorities remain undisclosed. Many aspects of the case, including the specific crime for which the men have been condemned to death, have not been publicly revealed.
The seven individuals, namely Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh, were employed by a private company, Dahra Global. They were in Qatar to assist with the introduction of Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force in their personal roles.
Here is a timeline of the case:
2022
August 30: Eight men, along with two others, were arrested for unknown reasons and placed in solitary confinement.
October 1: India's Ambassador in Doha and Deputy Head of Mission met the naval veterans.
October 3: First Consular access was granted. CEO of Dahra Global, Khamis al-Ajmi, also tried to help his officials but ended up getting arrested. He spent two months in solitary confinement and was later released on bail.
2023
March 1: The veterans' multiple bail pleas were rejected.
March 25: Charges were filed against the eight men.
March 29: The trial, following Qatari law, began.
May 30: Dahra Global closed its operations in Doha, and its former employees, mostly Indians, returned home.
August 4: The arrested men were moved from solitary confinement to a jail ward with their colleagues, with two men in each cell.
October 26: The court sentenced all eight men to death.
In its official statement, the Indian foreign ministry expressed, "We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the 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," they added.
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