Who are the 8 ex-Navy officers, whose death sentence has been commuted by Qatar?

A court in Qatar has reduced the death sentences of eight former Indian naval officers, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday (28 December). While a statement by the ministry mentioned their punishment has been commuted, the new quantum of punishment is still not known.

“We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced. The detailed judgement is awaited. We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps,” the MEA said.

The foreign ministry said the Indian Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present at the court in Qatar along with the family members of the men during the hearing. “The detailed judgement is awaited. We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps,” the statement added.

“We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced…The detailed judgement is awaited….Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family… pic.twitter.com/ysjVhbisaK

— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2023

The eight former Indian Navy officers were handed death sentences by a Qatar court on 26 October. India filed an appeal before an appellate court in Qatar at the time, which was accepted last month.

Who are these Navy veterans and what have they been charged with? Let’s take a closer look.

Who are the former Navy officers?

As per media 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, noted Hindustan Times.

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, reported Indian Express. 

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. One of the officers awarded death penalty — Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retired) — was reportedly the managing director of the firm. In 2019, he was also awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by the former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.

Indian Express reported that Tiwari’s profile on the company website said he “commanded a minesweeper and a large amphibious warship” when he was in the Indian Navy. The website of Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, which had information about its top employees including the arrested personnel, does not exist anymore.

As per the newspaper, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), Khamis Al Ajmi, is a retired Squadron Leader of the Royal Oman Air Force.

Indian ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, and even his predecessor have visited the company facilities and lauded its work as strengthening ties between India and Qatar, the report added.

When were they nabbed?

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

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 newspaper reported earlier.

The incident came as a surprise as India and Qatar share friendly ties and have also organised joint naval exercises.

Last November, the MEA said the Indian embassy in Doha is making all possible efforts for the early release and repatriation of the detained eight former naval personnel.

“We are aware of the detention of eight Indian nationals who we understand were working for a private company in Qatar,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters.

He said the Indian embassy has been in touch with Qatari authorities and that the mission officials were granted consular access and have ascertained the personnel’s well-being last month.

“The detained persons have also spoken to their family members on a few occasions. We have requested another round of consular access and we are following up with Qatari authorities on this,” he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The MEA spokesperson further said the embassy and ministry are in contact with the kin of the officials in Qatari custody.

The first hearing in their trial began in March this year. 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, reported The New Indian Express (TNIE).

After the death sentence verdict in October, India had said it was “deeply shocked” and would explore all legal options. India’s ambassador to Qatar had met the navy veterans in prison earlier this month.

Charges against them

Neither India nor Qatar have specified the charges against these veterans.

As per Reuters and Financial Times, the former Indian Navy personnel were charged with spying for Israel. However, the MEA said that the “full nature of the charges is not entirely clear”.

Family sources of the ex-Navy officers told Indian Express earlier that they were not informed of the formal charges, either by Qatari authorities or by Indian officials.

As per the English daily, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), Khamis Al Ajmi, is a retired Squadron Leader of the Royal Oman Air Force.

Indian ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, and even his predecessor have visited the company facilities and lauded its work as strengthening ties between India and Qatar, reports Indian Express. 

ALSO READ: As Qatar gears up to host football World Cup, a look at its treatment of women

Families reject charge

Families of these veterans have denied the spying allegations. They told NDTV that the former officers were “not engaged in espionage for Israel. They went to build the Qatari Navy and build that nation’s security. They could never spy. There are no proof of allegations…”

Dr Meetu Bhargava, sister of retired commander Purnendu Tiwari, had brought the incident to light when she sought the help of Modi, MEA and other Cabinet ministers on 27 October. She had said on X then that these eight veterans have been held in “illegal custody/detention” for “57 days”.

On 6 November, the same Twitter account took to the social media platform again to write, “The Indian Government need to act immediately, swiftly & walk the talk if they really care about their defence personnel as today is 69th day of the illegal solitary confinement of our senior citizen Navy veterans (officers) in Doha (Qatar).”

In another tweet, she added, “Many of these veterans are suffering from medical ailments because of their age. Delay in their release is causing extreme hardship to these veterans who had served their motherland & hence again plead our Government to kindly expedite their release pl” (sic).

Many of these veterans are suffering from medical ailments because of their age.
Delay in their release is causing extreme hardship to these veterans who had served their motherland & hence again plead our Government to kindly expedite their release pl.