Qatar row: ’60-day window has opened,’ says MEA on Qatar court relief
Qatar row: One week following the commutation of death sentences for eight Indian ex-Navy personnel by a Qatar court, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced the initiation of a 60-day period for appealing the case in Qatar's highest court.
Addressing the press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the MEA's legal team possesses the court order, which is treated as a confidential document.
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Jaiswal further emphasised that the temporal significance of this period, stating, "As far as the issue is concerned, there is a time of 60 days when this issue can be appealed in the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar."
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The confidential court order, outlining the conversion of death sentences to imprisonment terms, is in possession of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)'s legal team was disclosed in a press release subsequent to the court of appeal's ruling on December 28.
"We issued a press release in which we informed you that the death sentence, which was originally a death penalty, has been changed to imprisonment sentences. Now our legal team has that court order, and I can confirm that all of them have received sentences of different durations, and the death penalty has been abolished," Jaiswal said.
Eight Indian men, former Indian Navy personnel, have been detained in Qatar since August 2022, with unspecified charges. Among them are distinguished officers who previously commanded significant Indian warships. Employed by Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, they provided training to Qatar's armed forces.
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On October 26, 2023 eight former officers of the Indian Navy have been sentenced to death in Qatar on allegations of espionage but however the External Affairs Ministry announced on December 28, 2023 stated that the death sentences of eight former Indian Navy personnel in a case of alleged espionage in Qatar have been commuted. The ministry expressed its awareness of the verdict from the Court of Appeal in Qatar, which resulted in the reduction of their sentences.
The detained men who worked in Qatar were allegedly involved in dubious activities connected to espionage.
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