The Indian ambassador to Qatar, on
December 3, met the eight Indians facing death row since October in Qatar, said
the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said two
hearings on the appeal against the death sentence have already taken place.
“We are closely following the matter and
extending all legal and consular assistance… Our ambassador got consular access
to meet all eight of them in prison on December 3,” Bagchi said at a media
briefing.
The Indian nationals were given consular
access earlier as well. The Navy veterans were given a death sentence by Qatar’s
Court of First Instance on October 26.
Bharat termed the ruling as “deeply”
shocking and ensured the family members of exploring all legal options in the
case. The Indian nationals, who were employed at private company Al Dahra, were
arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage.
Neither the Qatari authorities nor New
Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.
In its reaction to the ruling by the
Qatari court, the MEA last month said it is attaching “high importance” to this
case and is exploring all legal options.
The charges were filed against the eight
Indian Navy veterans on March 25 and they were tried under Qatari law.
All of the former navy officers had “unblemished
stints” of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and had held important positions
including that of instructors in the force, said former military officials
earlier.
In May, Al-Dhara Global closed its
operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since
returned home. In the past, the Navy had taken up the case of former naval
personnel with top brass of the government to secure their release.
PTI
