Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 7: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai, the Ministry of External Affairs said India was allowed consular access to the eight former Indian navy personnel who are on death row in Qatar prison allegedly on espionage charges.
External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday afternoon that India’s envoy to Qatar met eight ex-Navy personnel – sentenced to death in October for reasons still not known but said to be for spying for Israel – on Sunday. “Our Ambassador got consular access to meet all eight in prison on December 3,” he said.
India’s formal appeal against the death sentence by a Qatari army court is claimed to have positive impact in as much as at least two hearings took place against the death sentence and another hearing was expected to be held soon.
News of the meeting with the eight sailors – arrested in August last year by that country’s intelligence agency, is being linked Modi’s meeting with the Qatar ruler. “You would have seen Prime Minister Modi met the Emir of Qatar in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28. They’ve had a good conversation on the overall bilateral relationship as well as in the well-being of the Indian community…,” he said.
On India’s appeal against the death sentence, Mr Bagchi said, “There have been two hearings so far (these were held on November 23 and November 30). We are closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance. This is a sensitive issue, but we will do whatever we can.” The next hearing is expected soon, it was learnt.
The Ambassador’s meeting with the sailors has been seen as a positive step – one that addresses concerns over consular access to the eight naval personnel, which seems now to have improved. Also seen as a positive step is that there have been two hearings since India filed its appeal.
The specifics of the PM’s brief meeting with the Emir have not been made public, but it does appear the Prime Minister has now taken up this matter with the Qatari ruler directly.
On November 24 a Qatari court had accepted India’s formal appeal against the death sentence, which the government said had left it “deeply shocked.” The arrested naval personnel are Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar.
The eight ex-Navy officers include decorated individuals who once commanded major Indian warships, and were working for a private firm providing training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces.
Families of the eight have flatly denied the spying allegations. They were “not engaged in espionage for Israel”, the families said. “They went to build the Qatari Navy and build that nation’s security. They could never spy. There are no proof of allegations…” Bagchi added that India was closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance.
The Indian nationals, all employees of a Doha-based company Dahra Global, were taken into custody in August 2022. While Qatari authorities are yet to make the charges against the prisoners public, media reports said the eight Indians had been charged with spying for Israel.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier met with the families of the prisoners and assured them that the government attached “the highest importance” to the case. On their part, the families have submitted a mercy plea to the Emir of Qatar.