Diplomacy

The Indian ambassador to Qatar met on December 3 eight former Indian Navy personnel who were handed death sentence by a Qatari court in October, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said two hearings on the appeal against the death sentence have already taken place. “We are closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance. Our ambassador got consular access to meet all eight of them in prison on December 3,” Bagchi said at a media briefing.

The Indian nationals were given consular access earlier as well. The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentence by Qatar's Court of First Instance. India described the ruling as deeply shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case.

The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.