New Delhi, December 28 (Indian Express): The appellate court in Qatar has commuted the death sentence that had been handed to eight former Indian Navy officers. A detailed court order is awaited, but the Indian government said the sentence has been reduced.
“We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “The detailed judgement is awaited. We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps.”
The Indian Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal, alongside the family members.
“We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities,” the MEA said.
“Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” it said.
This comes weeks after the Indian government appealed against the death penalty, handed to the men for alleged espionage charges by a Qatar court on October 26. An appeal filed before an appellate court in the country was accepted in the last week of November.
The Indian nationals, all employees of Doha-based Dahra Global, were taken into custody in August 2022. The charges against them were not made public by Qatari authorities. According to a report in the Financial Times, they were charged with spying for Israel.
Eight retired veterans of the Indian Navy, who were detained in Doha in 2022, were sentenced to death by a Qatari court on Thursday (October 26). The men — seven officers and one sailor — were working in their personal capacity for Dahra Global, an Omani private defence consultancy, to help oversee the induction of Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force.
The reasons for their arrest and death penalty are yet to be made public, although unconfirmed speculation has hinted at they were involved in espionage for a foreign state. Reacting to the news, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that it was “deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty” and that it was “exploring all legal options”.
We take a quick look at who these eight men are.
1. Captain Navtej Gill (Retd)
Captain Gill hails from Chandigarh and is the son of a retired Army officer. He was awarded the President’s gold medal as a cadet and served at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington. In what is considered a prized appointment, he was posted at INS Viraat, India’s second aircraft carrier which was decommissioned in 2017, as a navigating officer. He also commanded INS Prabal — an advanced missile corvette and the lead ship of the legendary Killer squadron, most known for its role in bombing Karachi port during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.
2. Commander Sugunakar Pakala (Retd)
An alumnus of Sainik school, Korukonda, both Commander Pakala’s parents were educationists. He was an engineering officer in the Navy, holding the unique record of crossing the equator twice aboard INS Tarangini, a 500 tonne sailship. A decorated officer, he had received a commendation from the commander-in-chief (C-in-C). After retiring from the Navy, he briefly worked at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in Vishakhapatnam.
3. Captain Saurabh Vashisht (Retd)
An engineering officer in the Navy, Captain Vashisht received commendations from C-in-C twice. He has done courses at DSSC, Wellington as well as the College of Defence Management at Secunderabad. He was command refit officer at Southern Naval Command and served on INS Magar, INS Kulish, INS Khanjar and Indian Coast Guard Ship Sangram. He hails from Dehradun.
4. Commander Purnendu Tiwari (Retd)
A navigation specialist from the executive branch of the Navy, Cdr Tiwari commanded INS Magar and was the fleet navigating officer of the Navy’s Eastern Fleet. He has also served on Rajput class destroyers. After retirement, he trained Singapore naval personnel prior to moving to Qatar. He was the first ever Armed Forces veteran to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award. He was presented the honour by then President Ramnath Kovind in 2019. Prior to his arrest last year, he was training personnel from the Qatari Navy.
5. Captain BK Verma (Retd)
Captain Verma was a navigation specialist and had served aboard a Godavari class ship. He was also a topper in the Staff College course. Both he and his wife share a military background.
6. Commander Amit Nagpal (Retd)
The former naval officer was a communications specialist in the Navy.
7. Commander SK Gupta (Retd)
The former naval officer specialised in Gunnery.
8. Ragesh
He was a sailor in the Navy. He is the only non-commissioned officer be involved in the current situation.
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