NEW DELHI, Dec 4
For the first time since eight former Indian Navy personnel were handed the death sentence by a court in Qatar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai Friday. They discussed bilateral partnership and the “well-being of the Indian community” living in Qatar.
The meeting comes days after the Indian government appealed the death penalty handed on October 26 by a Qatar court to the eight men on the alleged charge of espionage. Modi, in a post on X Saturday, said, “On the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai yesterday, had the opportunity to meet HH Sheikh @TamimBinHamad, the Amir of Qatar.”
“We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar,” he said. The appeal against the death penalty, filed before an appellate court in Qatar, was accepted in the last week of November – almost two weeks after the Indian government said that the appeal had been filed in the case. India had been given a round of consular access to the detainees on November 7. The Qatar court judgment remains confidential, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, and has been shared with the legal team. The Indian nationals, all employees of Doha-based Dahra Global, were taken into custody in August 2022. The charges against the Indian nationals were not made public by Qatari authorities. But sources said the Indians had been working in their private capacity with Dahra Global to oversee the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2.
According to a report in the Financial Times, the eight Indians had been charged with spying for Israel. The verdict had been given by Qatar’s Court of First Instance. The arrested Indian were identified as 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 – all ex-Indian Navy, employed by Dahra Global. Days after the verdict, which India had called “deeply shocking”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met family members of the eight men and assured them that the government attached “the highest importance” to the case.
In addition to government efforts, the families of the eight have also submitted a mercy plea to the Emir of Qatar who is known to grant pardons during Ramadan and Eid.
