In a significant development, a Qatar court has accepted the appeal backed by the Indian government against the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy officials last month, media reports said. Quoting sources, the reports said the next hearing is expected to take place soon. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said the judgement by the court is still confidential and they are in touch with the Qatari authorities.
"The judgment is confidential. There is a court of first instance that gave the judgment, which was shared with our legal team. Considering all legal options, an appeal has been filed. We are in touch with the Qatari authorities," the MEA said, as quoted by India Today.
The appeals were made by the men in their individual capacity, but supported by India, News18 cited sources as saying. According to a report in The Quint, during the hearing on Thursday, the court "formally accepted the appeal document, which was prepared by a lawyer representing the families, supported by the Indian government, and will subsequently decide a date for the next appeal hearing."
The eight former Indian Navy personnel were awarded a death sentence by Qatar's Court of First Instance on October 26. India reacted to the ruling sharply and called it "deeply" shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case. The punishment was announced after the authorities rejected the bail pleas of the Navy veterans several times.
last year in August, Qatar detained eight former Indian Navy officers on suspicion of working as spies for Israel while they were employed by a company based in the Middle Eastern nation. The men, identified as — 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 Ragesh — were arrested by Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022, reported India Today.
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