Recently, Eight Former Indian Navy officers were sentenced to death penalty on account of espionage.

These navy offices were under the detention of Qatar offices for over a year and now this judgement has brought the Ministry of External Affairs in India to an utter shock.

The men were actually working for a private firm, Dabra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services which provided training and associated services to Qatar's armed forces.

Their bail pleas were rejected so many times. The verdict was passed on Thursday by the Court of First Instance of Qatar.

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.

The External Affairs Ministry is still waiting for a detailed judgement. They are in touch with the family members and the legal team and is ready to explore all legal options. India is going to closely watch the developments of the case and will provide the necessary legal assistance.

The Ministry said that due to the confidential nature of the proceedings, it would not be appropriate to make any comments at this point.

It's quite reflective of the general line of the Qatar Goverment that it requires sensitive handling.

The Indian National Congress expressed anguish and distress over the news. It hopes and expects that the Goverment of India will use it's diplomatic and political leverage with the Qatar goverment to ensure highest possibly appeals for the detained navy officials.

Information about this case has been highly limited since the inception of it.

The Qatar media didn't actually reveal about the verdict even after several hours of Indian Government actually announcing it, quite reflective of the opaque nature of the Qatar media.

We also get to know that these officials endured solitary confinement before the commencement of trial. These officials were apprehended in August, 2022.

All eight Indian men were reportedly contracted to provide training to the Qatar navy. They have been accused of espionage on behalf of Israel related to Qatar's submarine programme. Qatar claims to have electronic evidence pertaining to the allegations.

S. Jaishankar regards it as a 'very sensitive matter' and said that the interests of these officials were foremost in our mind.

The Indian Government is in efforts to ensure that they are not treated unfairly and the sooner we can bring them back home.

The Opposition Party, Congress has alleged the ruling party for being more invested in building good relations with Qatar rather than initiating a process to get the release of the detained officials.

Anyway, India is trying to give the strongest possible support to the concerned people ensuring a complete legal representation believing that their rights should be fully protected.

Reference:-

• m.thewire.in