Indians On Death Row In Qatar: Among the eight men are decorated officers
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today met the families of eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been sentenced to death in Qatar.
Mr Jaishankar said India will "continue to make all efforts to secure their release."
"Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard," he said on X - formerly known as Twitter.
The men, including decorated officers who once commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar's armed forces.
Sources said some of them were working on a highly sensitive project -- Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics.
Reports claim the eight Navy veterans have been accused of spying.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said it was shocked by the verdict and would take up the issue with Qatari authorities. "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 had said.
Those sentenced are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.
Meetu Bhargava, sister of one the former officers detained, had sought help from the government to bring her brother back in June this year.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on June 8, she had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. "These Ex Navy officers are the pride of the nation & again I request our Hon'ble Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all are brought back to India immediately without any further delay," read her post, tagged to PM Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.