Qatar awards death penalty to 8 retired Indian Navy men for alleged espionage
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, October 26
India has expressed deep shock over a Qatar court handing out death penalty to eight former Indian Navy personnel, including seven retired officers.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options. We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with the Qatari authorities,” said an MEA statement. The eight men had begun working for a private company, Al Dahra Global Technologies, owned by two ex-servicemen of Qatar armed forces from 2018 onwards, shortly after the renewal of the India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement for five more years. Dahra Global provided training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies.
They were arrested by the Qatari domestic intelligence agency State Security Bureau sometime in mid-September last year and the first public knowledge about their arrest filtered out after they spoke to their families on September 30 last year.
7 officers among the sentenced
- Capt Navtej Singh Gill (retd)
- Capt Birendra Kumar Verma (retd)
- Capt Saurabh Vasisht (retd)
- Cdr Amit Nagpal (retd)
- Cdr Purnendu Tiwari (retd)
- Cdr Sugunakar Pakala (retd)
- Cdr Sanjeev Gupta (retd)
- Sailor Ragesh (retd)
A ray of hope
- A ray of hope for the 8 veterans is a 2015 pact between India & Qatar, in case their death sentence is commuted to imprisonment
- Under it, Indian nationals sentenced in Qatar can be sent to their home country to serve the remaining part of their term. Qatari citizens convicted in India too can be sent to their home country to serve their sentence
- The agreement was signed to facilitate social rehabilitation of the sentenced people
Worked on sensitive project, convicted of ‘spying for israel’
- 2018-20: Eight naval retired personnel start working on a sensitive project for the Qatar Navy
- Aug 30, 2022: All eight along with owner of company Al Dahra Global Technologies arrested
- Nov 2022: Al Dahra owner, a retired Sqn Leader, released
- March 29, 2023: Trial begins, all 8 put in solitary confinement hinting at security-related issue
- Sept 30: All allowed ‘brief telephonic contact’ with family
- Oct 1: Indian envoy Deepak Mittal, now in PMO, meets detained men
- Oct 3: Qatar court conducts seventh hearing in the case
- Oct 26: All eight sentenced to death; media reports say charged with spying for Israel on Qatar’s stealth submarines
Charges were also framed against two Qataris, including former Oman Air Force officer Khamis al-Ajmi, who was also the CEO of Dahra Global. Qatar’s then Head of International Military Operations Major Gen Tariq Khalid Al Obaidly was the other Qatari national to be interrogated.
Sources said the Indians were employed for a super-secret project to build Italian-technology based midget submarines with stealth characteristics. They have been convicted of allegedly spying for Israel with the Qatari authorities stating that they have electronic evidence in this regard.
The sources said Dahra Global Technologies had employed a large number of former Indian Navy personnel. After the controversy broke out, the rest were offered a severance package and told not to come for work from May 31 this year.
The MEA said it was making “all efforts to assist these Indians” even as it declined to give further details, saying that “due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture”.
One of the convicted, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari (retd) received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for “working to improve India-Qatar ties”.
One of those who brought the incident to light, Meetu Bhargava, the sister of one convicted former naval officers, had in May said the government was helping “but not enough as even their deportation to India after nine months has not happened”.
“These ex-Navy officers are the pride of the nation and again I request our Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all be brought back to India immediately,” she had said in another post on X.
At eight lakhs, Indians are the largest expatriate community in Qatar. India also has strong trade ties with Qatar mainly in the area of sourcing natural gas. Qatar was also the first country to demand a public apology after the Nupur Sharma controversy erupted.
