The Indian government has filed an appeal against the death sentence awarded to the eight former Navy officers in Qatar, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.
“Qatar has a court of first instance that gave the judgement,” Bagchi said during a press conference. “The judgement is confidential and has been shared with the legal team. We are also in touch with Qatari authorities.”
The spokesperson said that the Indian embassy in Doha received another consular access to the detainees on November 7. “We will remain engaged with the authorities in the matter,” he added.
VIDEO | "Qatar has a court of first instance that gave the judgment on eight Indian employees. The judgement is confidential and has been shared with the legal team. An appeal has been filed in this regard. We are also in touch with Qatari authorities," says @MEAIndia… pic.twitter.com/26AoNNMsJj
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 9, 2023
In August 2022, Qatar detained eight former Indian Navy officers on suspicion of working as spies for Israel while they were employed by a company in Qatar. 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.
The bail pleas of the Navy veterans were rejected several times by Qatari authorities. The death penalty was announced by the Court of First Instance of Qatar in October.
