Dahra Global case in Qatar: Death sentences of 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel reduced

A court of Appeal of Qatar has reduced the sentences of eight former Indian Navy personnel, arrested in August 2022 in connection with an alleged case of espionage. All the eight Indian men were handed the death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on 26 October, 2023 after being detained for more than a year on undeclared charges. “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 Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. India had got a round of consular access to the detainees on 7 November. “Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with 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 statement read. “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,” the MEA said. The development comes weeks after Qatar’s Court of First Instance accepted the appeal filed by the Indian government against the death sentence given to the ex-Navy personnel. The Indian men, all employees of Doha-based Dahra Global, were taken into custody in August 2022. The company provided training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces. The subsidiary was shut down in May this year. The charges against them were not made public by Qatari authorities. Earlier reports said the eight Indians had been charged with spying for Israel. After the initial verdict was pronounced, India had called it ‘deeply shocking’. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had also met the family members of the eight men and assured them that the government attaches “the highest importance” to the case. Following their arrest in 2022, the eight former Navy personnel were moved out of solitary confinement and put in a double-bed occupancy in a jail ward along with their colleagues. This year on 25 March, the charges were filed against the eight men after which the trial began on 29 March. In May 2023, Dahra Global shut down its operations in Doha and all employees – primarily Indians – have since returned home. With inputs from agencies