Indian government appeals against the death penalties awarded to 8 Ex-Navy Officers in Qatar

The Ministry of External Affairs notified on Thursday that the Indian government has lodged an appeal, challenging the death penalty given to the 8 decorated ex-Navy officers by a court in Qatar in October.

“The judgment is confidential. There is a court of first instance that gave the judgment which was shared with our legal team. Considering all legal options, an appeal has been filed. We are in touch with the Qatari authorities.” said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. “We got another round of consular access with the eight Indians on November 7. We are in touch with the family members… We will continue to extend all legal and consular support and we urge everyone not to engage in speculation considering the sensitive nature of the case,” added the MEA.

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 detained Qatar in August last year. The 8 ex-Navy officers were arrested by Qatar's intelligence agency in Doha arrested them on August 30, 2022, under the suspicion of spying for Israel. Despite their repeated attempts to secure bail, the Qatari authorities rejected their applications, and in October this year, a court in Qatar announced the death penalty.