NEW DELHI (TIP): The death penalty of eight former Indian Navy officials, who had been in the custody of Qatari authorities since August 2022, has been commuted to “varying quantum” of jail terms, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, January 4. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the legal team had been given 60 days to appeal against the jail terms.

“On December 28, the Court of Appeal in Qatar gave a verdict in which the death sentence was commuted and replaced with varying quantum of jail terms. Our legal team has received a copy of the court’s order, which is a confidential document. But I can confirm that the death sentence has been removed,” Mr. Jaiswal said. “As far as the next step is concerned, 60 days are there when the matter can come up for appeal in the Court of Cassation which is the highest court of Qatar,” he added.

The eight men – Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh – were employed by the Al Dahra company in Doha and were allegedly accused of breaching sensitive secrets at the time of their arrest. Although both India and Qatar have been secretive about the charges due to their sensitive nature, the former navy personnel were reportedly involved in training various security-related service providers for Qatar, and the company was also involved in producing high-tech Italian-origin submarines that are known for stealth capabilities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first public outreach to the Qatari leadership when he met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of COP28 on December 1 is believed to be significant towards the latest development in the high-profile case. In a social media post, Mr. Modi had said that he had discussed the “well-being of the Indian community in Qatar” with the Emir.