From The Wire (India)
New Delhi, December 29, 2023
Two months after sentencing eight Indian Navy veterans to death, Qatar’s Court of Appeal reduced their capital punishment to imprisonment of varying terms on Thursday (December 28).
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted the “verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced.”
The Ministry said that Vipul, India’s Ambassador to Qatar and the veterans’ family members were present in the Court of Appeal when the order was delivered.
Stating that a detailed judgement is awaited, the MEA said that it was “in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps.”
The Ministry explained that it would not make any further comments at this juncture “due to the confidential and sensitive nature of proceedings of this case.”
Varying prison terms
“We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities,” it added.
There was no mention of the extent to which the veterans’ sentences were reduced, but it is understood that they have been given varying prison terms.
The eight men are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commodore Amit Nagpal, Commodore Purnendu Tiwari, Commodore Sugunakar Pakala, Commodore Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.
On October 26, Qatar’s Court of First Instance handed the death penalty to the veterans, who had been detained for over a year.
The Charges
Employed by the now-defunct Omani private firm Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, they were contracted to provide training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces.
While the charges have never been made public, media reports hinted at the possibility of their being charged with espionage.
India had said that it was “deeply shocked” by the October verdict but had even then refrained from making further comments.
About four weeks later, the Court of Appeal accepted for deliberations the Indian government’s appeal against the veterans’ death sentence.
With the commutation of their death sentences, the eight Indians become eligible for repatriation to India under the 2015 bilateral agreement for the transfer of sentenced persons, which allows prisoners to serve their sentence in their home country.
The background
The eight former Indian Navy officers who have been detained in Qatar for over a year were handed the death penalty on Thursday, October 26, with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that it was “deeply shocked.”
The men were working for a private firm, Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, which provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces. They were detained without charges in August 2022, with media reports suggesting that they had been charged with espionage. Their bail pleas were rejected multiple times.
The verdict was passed by the Court of First Instance of Qatar.
“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,” the statement by the MEA read.
The opaque nature of the trial in Qatar was evident in the fact that none of the major media outlets within the Gulf kingdom reported the death sentence, even several hours after the Indian government’s announcement.
It came to light that these eight individuals were apprehended in August 2022, following the vocal concerns raised by their family members. They endured several months of solitary confinement before the commencement of their trial.
One of the detained persons, Purnendu Tiwari, was given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by President Ramnath Kovind. The award, as tweeted by the Indian embassy in Doha, was “in recognition of his contribution towards capacity building for the Qatar Navy.” It also said that it was the first time that this award for the Indian Diaspora was given to former armed forces personnel.
Tiwari had been the managing director at Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services, a defence consultancy firm, whose Omani CEO was also detained, but later released.
All eight Indian men were reportedly contracted to provide training to the Qatar Navy.
According to media reports, the former naval officers are accused of espionage on behalf of Israel related to Qatar’s submarine programme. Qatar had reportedly claimed to have electronic evidence pertaining to the allegations.
The above article, which appeared on the Wire India website, has been reproduced under a Special Agreement.
