In the latest development, Qatar on Friday accepted India’s appeal against the death penalty to 8 Navy veterans, sources said. An appeal was filed against the death sentence handed down to eight former Indian Navy personnel by a Qatari court last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Indian embassy in Doha received another consular access to the detained Indians on Tuesday and that New Delhi will continue to extend all legal and consular support to them.
The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.
All of the former Navy officers had “unblemished stints” of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and had held important positions including that of instructors in the force, former military officials had said. In May Al-Dhara Global closed its operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home.
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