Guwahati, 29 December: According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA ) source said that a verdict of Qatar court reduces the death penalty of former 8 Naval Officers to jail term. The MEA added that the Indian government had moved the Court of Appeal in Qatar against the death sentence last month. ‘Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family members. We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities.
The 8 former Navy officials are 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 Rajesh. They were working for Doha-based Dahra Global were arrested in August 2022. The Qatari authorities didn’t reveal the charges against the Indian citizens, but sources alleged the former Navy officials were spying for Israel. They were sentenced to death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance in October this year.