I’ll stop at nothing to ensure release: Eight people on Qatar’s death row are reassured by Jaishankar.
Eight Indian people were detained in August 2022 in connection with a suspected espionage case, and on October 26, a Qatari court sentenced them to death.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the family members of the eight former Indian Navy personnel on Monday, a day after a Qatari court sentenced them to death in a case involving allegations of espionage. He gave them the assurance that the case is of “the utmost importance” to the government.
Declaring that he “completely understands the worries and suffering of the families,” Jaishankar assured the relatives that every attempt will be made by the government to ensure their release.
India has called the verdict by the court of first instance in Qatar on October 27 “deeply” disturbing and is considering all legal and diplomatic possibilities.
India has called the verdict by the court of first instance in Qatar on October 27 “deeply” disturbing and is considering all legal and diplomatic possibilities.
emphasized that the government will keep working to secure their release. Will work closely in that regard with the families in coordination,” he stated.
India had described the verdict as “deeply shocking” and stated it is considering all “legal options.”
August 2022 saw the arrest of the Indian nationals, who were all workers for Dahra Global, a company based in Doha.
The Qatari authorities have not released the charges against the Indian nationals. However, sources claimed that the Indians were collaborating with Dahra Global in a private capacity to supervise the introduction of Italian U2I2 small stealth submarines.
The Financial Times reported that the eight Indians were accused of working as Israeli spies. Regarding the charges, there was no official word from the Indian side.
Captain Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, and Sailor Ragesh are among those detained.
Commander Tiwari’s sister Meetu Bhargava stated in an interview with The Indian Express on Sunday that the families of the eight have lost faith in the legal system due to the opaque nature of their trial in Qatar.
Citing a lack of time, she asked for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “personal intervention” to get them back. Of the eight relatives who came forward in October of last year to ask the Center for assistance in their release, the Bhargava family, based in Gwalior, was the first.
“Qatar is an amicable nation.” They are able to return them to India, another friendly nation. All eight of our men must return. All eight of them, not just my brother,” she remarked.
Some of the families in Qatar were reportedly given permission to see their detained relatives on Sunday, despite the fact that Indian authorities have not yet received a formal copy of the verdict. One of the former naval officers being held in Qatar has close family members, and they have informed neither the Indian authorities nor the families of the “exact charges” against their loved one.
We are all experiencing nerves at this moment. One of the former naval officers’ close family members stated, “We are all just patiently waiting.” She stated that it is “unfair” to associate the former officers with espionage in the absence of the verdict, as some reports have done. She said the ex-officers were in Qatar to support the development of its Navy.
A change.org online petition signed by friends and family members calls on the “government to intervene at the highest level and secure their release.”
