S. Jaishankar met families of detained ex-navy officers in Qatar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with the families of the 8 ex-Navy officials who are giving death sentence in Qatar.

The minister shared his meeting with the families of detained ex-Navy officers on X, as he stated that the government is taking the issue seriously, The minister also expressed his concern for the families and the pain through which they are going through.

He further said that the government will continue to make all the efforts to secure the release of these nationals and  will continue to keep the families of these nationals in the contact.

"Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard," said the minister.

Qatar did not share the transcript of court proceeding

The Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari said on Monday that the government of Qatar was to provide the transcription of court proceeding on Sunday but it did not. The government will look into it. Apart from this he also said that the government is making every effort to take up legal course to the relief of our personnel.

The former navy personnel were arrested in August 2022  in alleged case of Espionage. On October 26, these 8 ex-Navy personnel were given death sentence by a court in Qatar.

To this, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed tits shock over the issue and said "We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgment in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company. We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment."

Charges against the ex-Navy officers

The ex-Navy personnel who were taken into custody by Qatar in 2022 are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Rajesh.

Although neither the Indian government and nor the government of Qatar publicly confirmed the accusation against the former navy personnel but, according to media reports from Middle East, these navy officers were arrested on the charges of spying for Israel.

Request Prime Minister to intervene

The families of the detained men have requested Prime Minister Modi to directly intervene in the matter. The External Affairs Minister met the families to communicate that the government will make all efforts to secure the relief of the matter.

Test of Ties

Even though India and Qatar have had smooth bilateral relations, but this matter will in reality check the diplomatic ties. Every country has it's own rules and regulations and the judiciary functions in under the said framework.

India and Qatar also have bilateral relations and based on those relations, legal framework and international laws, India will have to try get the relief of the detained Indian Nationals. Hence, this issue will test the strength of these relations.

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