Eight Indian Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar for espionage

Eight former Indian Navy personnel were handed the death penalty at the Court of First Instance in Qatar who were found guilty of spying on a submarine programme, reported 24NewsHD TV channel Thursday.

The defendants, who are former naval officers, have been imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 on accusations of spying on behalf of Israel, according to a Khaleej Times report.

The sentenced Indian Navy personnel included Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purenendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh.

The eight Indian nationals worked at Qatar’s Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services. It is a private company that offers training and various other services to the defense and security agencies of Qatar, according to the Indian media.

The Indian nationals, all employees of Al Dahra company, were taken into custody in August last year. The company was shut down in May 2023, Al Jazeera reports. The company had employed as many as 75 Indian nationals, most of them being former Navy personnel.

According to the report, the New Delhi had been granted consular access to the eight Indians and had been working to secure their release. The Indian nationals had their first trial in late March.

Meetu Bhargava, the sister of one of the detained officers, sought help from the Indian government to bring her brother back.