Eight former Indian Navy personnel have been sentenced to death by a court in Qatar. They were arrested by Qatari authorities on August 30, 2022, and have since been under solitary confinement. Their trial began on March 29 this year.
Death Sentence For Eight Indian Ex-Navy Personnel in Qatar
The Court of First Instance in Qatar on Thursday announced a death penalty verdict for eight former Indian Navy personnel who were detained in Doha in August 2022 in an alleged espionage case. Reacting strongly to the verdict, India’s Ministry of External Affairs expressed “deep shock” and affirmed that it will provide all consular and legal assistance and explore all possible options to rescue the veterans.
MEA ON DEATH PENALTY
“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has passed a judgement in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” the MEA said in an official press release.
Challenge For The Indian Government
The families of the veterans were not apprised of the formal charges under which the trial was being held. The case presents a significant diplomatic challenge for the Indian government. For the next few months at least, they were allowed weekly phone calls to their family members.
WHO ARE THE 8 INDIANS SENTENCED IN QATAR?
Since August 8, 2022, eight former Indian Navy personnel have been detained in Qatar, facing accusations of espionage related to a submarine program. The former Indian Navy officers — Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh — were arrested by Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022.
Who are these Indians, and what were they doing in Qatar?
The company is owned by an Omani national, Khamis al-Ajmi, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Oman Air Force. This man too, was arrested along with the eight Indians, but he was released in November 2022. The company’s old website, which no longer exists, said it provided training, logistics and maintenance services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force (QENF). On its new website, the company is called Dahra Global, but there is no mention of the connection to the QENF, nor of the seven former Navy officers who had leadership roles in the company.
Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), who was Managing Director of the company, received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for his services in furthering the bilateral relationship between India and Qatar. Most of the arrested men had been working at Dahra for four to six years at the time of their arrests.
When were the men arrested by the Qatari authorities, and why?
Most of the arrested men had been working at Dahra for four to six years at the time of their arrests. The men were picked up by the State Security Bureau, the Qatari intelligence agency. The Indian Embassy first learnt about the arrests in mid-September last year. On September 30, the men were allowed “brief telephonic contact” with their family members. The first consular access — a visit by an official of the Indian embassy — was granted on October 3, more than a month after they were taken into custody. The charges against the men were never made public, but the fact they were put in solitary confinement led to speculation that they had been detained in connection with a security-related offence.
What is the nature of the relationship between India and Qatar?
The two countries have had friendly relations for decades. Since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Qatar in November 2008, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, the relationship has burgeoned. In 2021, India was among the top four export destinations for Qatar; it is also among the top three sources of Qatar’s imports. The bilateral trade is valued at $15 billion, which is mostly LNG and LPG exports from Qatar worth over $13 billion. Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships regularly visit Qatar. QENF delegations participated in two maritime exercises in India in 2021. Two editions of a joint naval exercise called Zair Al Bahr have been held.
What are the challenges, if any, in the relationship?
The first big challenge to the relationship came in June 2022 over BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s references to the Prophet on a TV show. Qatar was the first country to object and demand a “public apology” from India soon after the controversy erupted.
Qatar Allegations
The news of the death penalty for the Indians has come at time when the Middle East is on the boil over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Qatar, which is deeply sympathetic to the Palestinians, has mediated the release of two American hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza, and the country’s diplomats are said to be working as a regional mediator in the crisis.
