Qatar court hears India’s appeal against death to former Navy men
A Qatar court has accepted the appeal filed by the Narendra Modi government against the death sentence of eight former Indian navy personnel, arrested on alleged charges of spying, and agreed to hear their plea soon without giving a specific timeline, a media report said.
This development comes a month after the eight former Indian Navy personnel were given death sentence by Qatar’s Court of First Instance in a the case.
The charges were filed against the eight Indian Navy veterans on March 25 and they were tried under Qatari law but the situation turned worse on October 26 after the local court pronounced the death sentences.
The External affairs ministry had described the ruling as “deeply” shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case.
“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgment in the case involving eight Indian employees of Al Dahra company. We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” the MEA had said in a statement.