Eight former Indian Navy officers were sentenced to death by a Qatari court on Thursday, to which India protested. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has reacted on the matter. He has said that the death sentence given by Qatar authorities to eight Indians serving in the Navy is shocking. Tharoor has expressed confidence in the Ministry of External Affairs and PM Modi and expressed hope that the Indian government will talk with the Qatar government for the return of eight Indians to their country and it will yield positive results. The Congress MP said that the entire matter is full of mystery.
All are employees of Al Dahra Company
It is being told that all the eight Indian citizens are employees of Al Dahra Company, who were detained last year on alleged charges of espionage. However, the Qatar government has not made public the allegations against these eight Indians. India has strongly opposed this decision. India has said that it is extremely shocked by this decision and is considering all legal options in this matter. The Foreign Ministry said that we are waiting for the detailed details of the decision.
Were arrested in August last year
These former marines were caught by the State Security Bureau of Qatar’s intelligence agency on August 30 last year. However, the Qatar government informed the Indian Embassy about their arrest in mid-September. Even the family members were not aware of his arrest for a month. On September 30, these Indians were allowed to talk to their family members on telephone for a while. He got consular access for the first time on October 3 and an Indian Embassy official was allowed to meet him. After this he was allowed to call his family members every week.
Shocked to learn that #qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former @IndianNavy officers. The details of the entire case are shrouded in mystery & opacity. trust @MEAIndia , @PMOIndia will act immediately with the highest levels of the Qatar government to support an appeal…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 27, 2023
death sentence to them
Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Sugnakar Pakala and Sailor Ragesh.
One of these has received Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
These eight people also include retired Commander Purnendu Tiwari, who received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in the year 2019 for advancing bilateral relations between India and Qatar. He is the only person from the armed forces to receive this award. He has commanded many big ships in the Indian Navy.
Worked for a company that trained Qatar’s marines
This former naval officer worked in a private company named Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy in Qatar. Talking about this company, it is a defense service provider company, which provides training and other services to the Qatar Navy. Its chief operator is former squadron leader of Oman Air Force Khamis Al Ajami. He was also arrested along with these Indian officials, but was released in November.
India said- we are in touch with legal experts
India has said that we are in touch with the family members and the legal team. We are looking for a legal way to free them. The ministry said that due to the confidential nature of the proceedings in the case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comments at this time. We will work to raise the decision with Qatari authorities.
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