'We have the verdict; it's confidential. Have 60 days to appeal to highest Qatar court': MEA on ex-Navy personnel case

India has the order by a Qatar court that commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel, the Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday, adding that it is confidential and the legal team is working on it.

During a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed the ex-India Navy personnel are no longer on death row. “All have got varying sentences,” he added.

Jaiswal further said there is 60 days time to appeal the case before the Court of Cassation, highest court.

“The legal team has the order of the court, which is confidential. 60 days are there to appeal to the highest court of Qatar…We are in touch with the family members and the legal team,” Jaiswal said.

#WATCH | On Qatar court’s verdict commuting death sentence of 8 Indian ex-Navy personnel, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “…The legal team has the order of the court, which is confidential. 60 days are there to appeal to the highest court of Qatar…We are in touch with… pic.twitter.com/MdqgNEWIOy

— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2024

On 28 December, 2023, the Court of Appeal in Qatar commuted the death sentence handed down to the Indians and sentenced them to prison for varying durations.

It is learnt that the prison terms handed to the former Indian Navy personnel range from three years to 25 years.

The verdict came weeks after the family members of the Indians filed an appeal against the earlier order by another court.

The Navy veterans were on 26 October, 2023, given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance.

India had filed an appeal before an appellate court in Qatar which was accepted in November last year.

According to reports, these ex-naval officers include some highly-decorated personnel who once commanded Indian warships. Several of these officers retired with the rank of commander from the Indian Navy.

The eight veterans have been identified as Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Purenendu Tiwari, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar.

These former Navy officers were employed by a Qatar company named Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services to provide training and services such as logistics and equipment maintenance to the Qatari Emiri Navy.

They had been working with the company for the last four to six years.

The eight former Navy officers were picked up by Qatar’s intelligence agency – State Security Bureau on 30 August 2022, The Indian embassy in Doha apparently learnt about the arrest only in mid-September.

The officers in custody were allowed to talk to their families on the phone at the end of September, while in early October, they were visited by an official of the Indian embassy. The next consular access was provided in the first week of November.

The first hearing in their trial began in March 2023. Their bail pleas were turned down multiple times and their detention was extended by Qatari authorities.

All eight ex-officers were previously in solitary confinement. However, in August this year, they were shifted to cells shared by two officers each in Doha.

After the death sentence verdict in October last year, India had said it was “deeply shocked” and would explore all legal options.

With inputs from agencies