On Thursday, Qatar shocked India by awarding eight former Indian Navy personnel death sentences in an alleged "espionage case." The verdict, which came out of the blue, shocked India which has now "vowed to explore all legal options in the case".
Ironically, the details of the "high importance" espionage case or the charges the Indians faced were not made public by the Qatari authorities. The Indian side too has so far kept mum on the 'crimes' of the Indian nationals, who worked with the private Qatari company, Al Dahra.
The Indians awarded the death penalty include former Indian Navy captain Saurabh Vashisht, commander Purenendu Tiwari, captain Birendra Kumar Verma, commander Sugunakar Pakala, commander Sanjeev Gupta, commander Amit Nagpal and sailor Ragesh.
All eight were former Indian Navy officials with "unblemished service records" and had taken voluntary retirements in search of greener pastures. They moved to Qatar to join the Al Dahra security company, which had a pact with Qatari authorities for facilitating training to naval personnel.
According to the old website of Al Dahra, the company provided training, logistics and maintenance services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force (QENF). However, the website is now revamped and the company name changed to 'Dahra Global' and it no longer boasts any connection with the QENF.
The owner of the company was an Omani national, Khamis al-Ajmi, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Oman Air Force. al-Ajmi too was jailed along with the eight Indians, but he was released in November 2022.
A report that appeared in Al Jazeera in May claims the Indians are accused of passing information about a stealth-capable submarine, allegedly to Israel.
In 2020, Qatar signed a pact with Italian-based shipbuilding firm Fincantieri SpA to build submarines as part of a larger project involving the construction of a naval base and maintenance of its military fleet. The project now seems to have been dropped.
Even after the spy case broke out, Israel did not officially comment on the issue. But Al Jazeera said Tel Aviv "has stakes in preventing the development of military technologies across the Middle East, as it fears it could undercut its United States-backed military edge."
The arrests reportedly happened on 30 August, 2022, under the cover of darkness. The Qatar’s State Security Bureau, their spy agency, did not inform the Indian Embassy about the arrest and only a month later could they call their families to inform them about the development.
There were speculations that the ex-Indian Navy officers were being "framed" by Pakistani intelligence agencies. But, Indian officials never confirmed these rumours. Indian Ambassador to Qatar and the Deputy Chief of Mission met them in prison and they had legal representation in court. This hinted that the Indian government are aware of the charges, but has decided against revealing them to the public.
What's next
Now that the Ministry of External Affairs said that they are awaiting the detailed judgement in the case and are exploring all legal options, talks may have started with the Qatari side. The government said it would continue to extend all consular and legal assistance to the Indians. "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 Qatari authorities," the MEA statement said.
Unconfirmed reports say families of the former Indian Navy personnel have reportedly filed a mercy plea to the Emir of Qatar.
