The eight were workers of Al Dahra Global Technologies, a pvt establishment that handed training and other services to Qatar’s fortified forces and security agencies.
A court in Qatar on Thursday gave the death judgment to eight former Indian Navy labor force held on unidentified charges since August 2022, with the Indian government expressing deep shock at the verdict and saying it’s “ exploring all legal options ”.
The judgment was handed down by Qatar’s Court of First Instance, and no details were released officially by authorities in Doha.
The external affairs ministry declined to make any farther comment citing the “ nonpublic nature of proceedings ” in the case against the eight navy men.
The eight former nonmilitary labor force were all working for Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private establishment possessed by anex-Oman Air Force officer that handed training and other services to Qatar’s fortified forces and security agencies.
In a statement, the external affairs ministry said New Delhi entered original information about Qatar’s Court of First Instance passing a judgment in the case involving the eight Indian workers of Al Dahra.
“ We’re deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment. We’re in touch with the family members and the legal platoon, and we’re exploring all legal options, ” the statement said without giving details. We attach high significance to this case, and have been following it nearly. We’ll continue to extend all consular and legal backing. We’ll also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities, ” the statement said.
It added “ Due to the nonpublic nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be applicable to make any farther comment at this juncture. ”
The case has been girdled by query as both the Indian and Qatari sides maintained complete silence on the charges against the eight men.
At a briefing on October 19, external affairs ministry prophet Arindam Bagchi eventually verified in response to a question from HT that charges had been presented against the eight men as part of the sounds but declined to go into details.
Soon after the men were detained, Al Dahra’s website said that it was under conservation and the establishment’s table on Linkedin was removed.
The establishment before described itself as a “ original business mate ” for the Qatari fortified forces. The officers among the detained men have been decorated with military and mercenary honours and some have held elderly positions in the Indian Navy.
Commander( retired) Purnendu Tiwari, who’s among the detained Indians, served as Al Dahra’s managing director and commanded several warships while serving with the cortege .
The bail pleas of the men were rejected multitudinous times and their detention extended by Qatari authorities.
For a long time, they were held in solitary confinement and not allowed to meet their families. Following the intervention of Indian authorities, officers from the Indian delegacy in Qatar were given consular access to the men and meetings and phone calls were arranged with their cousins.
The seventh hail in the case was held on October 3, when it came clear that a judgment was anticipated this month.
India’s minister in Qatar and his deputy met the men in captivity on October 1 after being granted consular access.
People familiar with the matter said on condition of obscurity that the eight men were charged with spying.
The people said an Indian intelligencer and their partner were lately ordered by Qatari authorities to leave the country for reporting on the case.
The silence of Qatari authorities on the matter was perceived as surprising, given the West Asian country’s good relations with India.
While India has significantly stepped up defence cooperation with countries similar as Saudi Arabia only in recent times, it has had strong defence ties with Qatar for much longer.
The website of the Indian delegacy in Doha describes defence cooperation as “ an important pillar of our bilateral docket ”.
India offers training places in its defence institutions to Qatar, and Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels regularly visit Qatar as part of the bilateral cooperation. India and Qatar inked a Defence Cooperation Agreement in November 2008.
