8 navy veterans handed death sentence in Qatar

A court in Qatar on Thursday gave the death sentence to eight former Indian Navy personnel held on undeclared charges since August 2022, with the Indian government expressing deep shock at the verdict and saying it is "exploring all legal options".

- Rezaul H Laskar

The sentence was handed down by Qatar's Court of First Instance, and no details were released officially by authorities in Doha. Besides giving a few details, the external affairs ministry declined to make any further comment in view of the "confidential nature of proceedings" in the case against the eight men.

At the time the eight former naval personnel - seven offices and one sailor - were detained, they were all working for Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm owned by an Oman Air Force officer that provided training and other services to Qatar's armed forces and security agencies. They were believed to have been overseeing the induction of Italian-made midget stealth submarines into the Qatari Navy.

The external affairs ministry said in a statement that New Delhi had received initial information about Qatar's Court of First Instance passing a judgement in the case involving the eight Indian employees of Al Dahra.