India appeals against death penalty for 8 ex-navy personnel in Qatar, MEA shares confidential verdict with legal team

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that India has appealed against the death sentence awarded to eight of its citizens and shared a copy of the Qatari court’s judgement with the legal team.

“On November 7, our embassy in Doha received another consular access to the detainees,” the ministry said, adding that it remains engaged with Qatari authorities over the matter.

“Qatar has a court of first instance that gave the judgment on eight Indian employees. The judgement is confidential and has been shared with the legal team. An appeal has been filed in this regard. We are also in touch with Qatari authorities,” said spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

VIDEO | “Qatar has a court of first instance that gave the judgment on eight Indian employees. The judgement is confidential and has been shared with the legal team. An appeal has been filed in this regard. We are also in touch with Qatari authorities,” says @MEAIndia… pic.twitter.com/26AoNNMsJj

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 9, 2023

The eight former Indian Navy personnel have been in jail since August last year. They are accused of espionage on behalf of Israel, with Qatari authorities reportedly having possession of electronic evidence to support these allegations.