Qatari Court Commutes Death Sentence for 8 Ex-Indian Navy Personnel

People who know about the case say that on Thursday, a court in Qatar commuted the death sentences of eight former Indian Navy members and sent them to jail for terms ranging from three years to twenty-five years.

The eight men were arrested in August 2022 on charges that were not made public. Their families filed an appeal, which was heard by Qatar’s Court of Appeal. There were reports that they were charged with spying, but the Indian and Qatari governments have not said what the charges are.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a short statement that the sentences for the eight men—Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma, and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh—had been “reduced” by Qatar’s Court of Appeal. However, they did not give any further information. “The full judgment is being waited for,” the statement read.

The above-mentioned people said that the Qatari court had changed the death sentences of all eight men and given them jail terms of different lengths. “The death penalty is not an option.” “The prison terms range from a few years to several years,” a person who did not want to be named said.

A second person said the jail terms are between three and twenty-five years.

The death sentence was commuted, which means that India can use a deal from 2015 with Qatar to transfer people who are on death row. People from India and Qatar who have been found guilty of a crime and given a sentence can spend their time in their home country thanks to this agreement.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signed the deal while he was in India in March 2015. However, it does not apply to people who are already on death row.

“Decide on the next steps,” the Indian government said, adding that they are in close contact with the lawyers and families of the eight men.

When the decision was made on Thursday, the Indian minister to Qatar and other officials, along with family members, were in the Court of Appeal.

“We have been by their side since the start of this case, and we will continue to offer all legal and consular help.” “This will also be brought up again with the Qatari government,” the statement said.

“Because the proceedings in this case are private and sensitive, it would not be appropriate to make any further comments at this time,” it said.

People in the know said that the Indian side will work with the legal team to look at all of their choices, such as filing another appeal against the men’s prison sentences. The guy above said, “This is all part of a process, and it will go on.”

After being held for more than a year, the eight men were given the death penalty by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26. Among them were decorated officers who led frontline warships in the Indian Navy. At the time, the ministry of external affairs said it was “deeply shocked” by the decision and promised to look into all legal options to help the former sailors.

The Court of Appeal in Qatar held three cases, on November 23, November 30, and December 7. On December 3, the Indian minister was given permission to meet with the eight men.

In the past, the men’s families had asked the emir of Qatar to release them. On December 18, which is Qatar’s national day, and during the Eid festivals, the emir generally frees prisoners.

The eight men worked for a branch of Dahra Engineering & Security Services, a company based in Oman that trained and did other work for Qatar’s military. The branch was shut down in May of this year.