Qatar has sentenced eight Indian nationals to death after they were detained in Doha last year on espionage charges, CNN reports.
India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday that it intended to discuss the matter with Qatari authorities and expressed “deep shock” at the verdict. The Ministry said:
“We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options.”
According to a letter dated 23 December last year from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, posted by Indian MP Manish Tewari on the X network, the Indian nationals were former Indian Navy personnel.
Tewari said the letter was a written reply to him in response to his concerns raised in Parliament about the “illegal incarceration” of retired naval officers. Major General (retd) Satbir Singh, chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen’s Movement, said the families of the men were “distraught”. He said:
“These men went to train the Qatar Naval personnel, and now they are being blamed for espionage.”
Singh said the organisation, which dealt with the welfare of army personnel, had been advocating for the men since their detention last year. The organisation had also written letters on many occasions to senior Indian government officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of the eight men, seven were commanders and one was a sailor, Singh said. He also added:
“They are all ageing men and have different health issues that need attention. The families are distraught by the news.”
The Indian ministry did not comment on the charge and sentence, nor did it release the names of the citizens, but said they were employees of Qatari company Al Dahra.
Qatari authorities on espionage charges detained eight Indians on 2022 August, CNN affiliate CNN-News18 reported Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of Indians make up a large part of Qatar’s more than 2 million-strong foreign labour force, which accounts for 95% of the workforce in the gas-rich Gulf nation, according to the United Nations.
