EAM S Jaishankar meets family of 8 navy personnel, assures support

The eight former Indian Navy personnel were involved in providing training services to Qatar's armed forces

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the families of the eight Indian Navy officers who have been detained in Qatar. The minister assured the family that the government would make all efforts to ensure their release. Moreover, the EAM said that the government attaches the "highest importance" to the case and will coordinate closely with the families in that regard.

Informing about the meeting, Jaishankar took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, "Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that the government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that the government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard."

The case has been in the news since the Court of First Instance of Qatar sentenced the eight Indian Navy officers to the death penalty. Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it was "deeply shocked" by the verdict and now awaits the detailed judgement.

Who are the eight naval officers sentenced to death?

The eight former navy personnel include Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, and sailor Ragesh Gopakumar.

These former Indian Navy personnel were working at Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a company that provides defence services. An Omani national owns this company, Khamis-al-Ajmi retired, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Omani Air Force. He was also arrested along with the Navy officers, but he was released in November last year.

Read more about the story here: Why Qatar awarded death penalty to 8 ex-Indian Navy officers; details here

Why have they been arrested?

The eight former Indian Navy personnel provided training services to Qatar's armed forces. They have been working for Dahra for the last four to six years. The eight men were arrested by Qatar's intelligence agency State Security Bureau in Doha in August 2022, and their trials began on March 29, 2023.

While the charges have not been made public so far, media reports have said that the eight men are accused of spying for Israel and leaking information about Qatar's secret submarine deal with Italy.