‘No indication how many Indians were in pardon list’: MEA on eight Indians detained in Qatar

On the matter related to the death penalty awarded to the eight Indian ex-Navy personnel in Qatar, the Ministry of External Affairs on December 21 said that three hearings have taken place in the Qatar Court of Appeal while adding that there has been no indication on how many Indians are there in the pardon list.

Addressing the weekly press briefing on December 21, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the case is now in the court of appeal.

“There have been three hearings in the Qatar Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, our ambassador in Doha got consular access to meet all 8 men on December 3,” he said.

The eight Indian nationals have been imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme. The retired naval personnel were sentenced to death by a Qatar court on charges that have not yet been made public officially. He emphasised that they have not received any indication that these eight Navy personnel are involved in that case as the case is still going on.

“But beyond this, I don’t have anything to share at this stage. I have no indication of who were the people pardoned and how many Indians were there. We certainly have not received any indication that these 8 are involved in that as the case is going on…,” Arindam Bagchi added.

Last week, Arindam Bagchi said that since the detainees filed an appeal and two hearings have already been held.

“There have been two hearings. We filed an appeal, with the families, and the detainees had a final appeal. Two hearings have since been held. One was on November 30 and the other was on November 23. I think the next hearing is coming up soon,” Arindam Bagchi said.

Moreover, the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed the judgement against them, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Qatar has also yet to provide details of the charges against the former Naval officers, nor has the order of the Court of First Instance been shared with the families of the former Naval officers.

(with inputs from ANI)