In a significant development, a Qatar court recently commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel, prompting the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to discuss the next steps with their family members and legal representatives. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a media briefing, highlighted that the legal team possesses the confidential court order and clarified that the personnel are no longer on death row.
Jaiswal further informed that there is a two-month (60 days) timeframe for appealing the case in the highest court of Qatar, and the legal team is actively working on it. The Navy veterans, previously sentenced to death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26, saw their sentences reduced to varying prison durations after their families appealed the earlier verdict.
The Indian nationals, employed by Al Dahra, a private company, were arrested in August last year, reportedly on charges related to espionage. While the charges were not made public by either the Qatari authorities or New Delhi, the prison terms range from three to 25 years.
This development follows last month’s relief when the Qatari court dropped the death sentences.
