What is the case against the eight Indian Navy veterans who were given death sentences by a Qatari court, and who are they?

Since the former Navy officers were taken into custody last year, no progress has been made on the diplomatic front. The move, which has “deeply shocked” India, has occurred at a pivotal moment for the Middle East.

A court in Qatar has sentenced eight ex-Indian Navy personnel to death. Since their arrest on August 30, 2022, they have been detained in solitary confinement by Qatari officials. This year on March 29, their trial got underway.

On Thursday, October 26, the Ministry of External Affairs declared that it was “waiting for the detailed judgement” and expressed “deep shock at the verdict of death penalty.” The Ministry added that it was “looking into every avenue for legal action.”

The public is not aware of the circumstances surrounding the veterans’ extended detention in Qatar or the imposition of the death penalty. The formal charges under which the veterans’ trial was taking place were not disclosed to their families. The Indian government faces a serious diplomatic issue as a result of this case.

What were these Indians doing in Qatar, and who are they?

The eight former sailors were employed by Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a provider of defense services. They were Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh.

Owner of the business is Khamis al-Ajmi, a retired Royal Oman Air Force squadron leader who is an Omani national. Along with the eight Indians, this man was also taken into custody, but in November 2022, he was set free.

The company said on its defunct website that it offered maintenance, logistics, and training services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force (QENF). The business is called Dahra Global on its new website, but neither the company’s affiliation with the QENF nor the seven former Navy officers who held executive positions therein are mentioned.

The company’s managing director, Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 in recognition of his contributions to strengthening ties between Qatar and India. He was honoured in Doha by P Kumaran, the Indian ambassador at the time, and a former head of the International Military Cooperation of the Qatari defense forces. The Indian Cultural Centre hosted the event. Attending this event was Indian Navy Captain Kapil Kaushik, who was serving as the defense attaché at the Indian Embassy at the time.

Both Kumaran and Ambassador Deepak Mittal, the Indian ambassador in Doha, who succeeded him, had left certificates on the Dahra website endorsing the company’s efforts to promote goodwill between the two nations. At the time of their arrest, the majority of the men had been employed by Dahra for four to six years.

Why and when were the men taken into custody by the Qatari authorities?

The men were taken by the intelligence agency of Qatar, the State Security Bureau. Mid-September of last year was when the Indian Embassy was first made aware of the arrests.

The men were permitted to have “brief telephonic contact” with their relatives on September 30. More than a month after they were taken into custody, on October 3, an Indian embassy official paid them a visit as part of the first consular access.

They were permitted to make weekly phone calls to their family members for the next few months, at the very least.

Although the men’s charges were never made public, the fact that they were placed in solitary confinement raised the possibility that their incarceration was related to a security-related offense.

What kind of relationship does Qatar have with India?

The two nations have enjoyed cordial ties for many years. The relationship has flourished since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first visit to Qatar in November 2008 as an Indian prime minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Qatar in 2016 after the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, visited India in 2015. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has made at least three trips to the nation. In 2018, the first Indian Foreign Minister to visit Qatar was the late Sushma Swaraj.

India was one of Qatar’s top four export destinations and one of its top three import sources in 2021. The total value of trade between the two countries is $15 billion, with over $13 billion coming from LNG and LPG exports from Qatar.

Officially, defense cooperation is referred to as a “pillar” of relations between India and Qatar. A major turning point was the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement between India and Qatar during the visit of Prime Minister Singh in November 2008. In 2018, the agreement was renewed for an additional five years.

Reports of Indian officials characterizing the agreement as “just short of stationing troops” were cited at the time in a paper released by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). The agreement called for reciprocal visits and Indian training of the QENF.

Indian Coast Guard and Naval vessels frequently stop in Qatar. In 2021, two maritime drills in India were attended by delegations from QENF. There have been two iterations of the cooperative naval drill Zair Al Bahr.

What difficulties do you think the relationship may be facing?

The relationship faced its first significant test in June 2022 when BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made disparaging remarks about the Prophet on television.

Shortly after the dispute broke out, Qatar was the first nation to voice objections and demand a “public apology” from India. An invitation to a dressing down was sent to the Indian Ambassador. India controlled the fallout by forcing the BJP to fire Sharma quickly as anger erupted throughout the Islamic world.

The second major issue of recent years is the incarceration of the eight former Navy personnel. 800,000 Indians live and work in this country; the development caught New Delhi off guard. In Qatar, the majority of foreign residents are Indian. Its 210-person delegation was the second largest at last year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas celebration in Indore, only surpassed by that of Mauritius.

The announcement of the death penalty for Indians comes at a moment when the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is causing tensions in the Middle East. With strong pro-Palestinian sentiments, Qatar facilitated the release of two American hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza, and its diplomats are reportedly serving as regional mediators in the conflict.