India's government has reported that the verdict for the eight ex-Navy personnel sentenced to death by a Qatar court last October for unspoken charges has been commuted to terms that seem likely to be heavy jail time. The judgment has not yet been released, so details on the reduced punishment remain unclear. Indian officials, in close touch with legal teams and family members, have stated that they have been providing legal and consular assistance since the beginning and will continue to do so.

Qatari Court Reduces Death Sentence of 8 Indian Navy Veterans.

Qatar court on Oct 26 handed death sentence to the Indians on charges of spying on a submarine programme on behalf of Israel.

The verdict comes as a diplomatic win for India.

#Qatar #india #israel #Israeli pic.twitter.com/YZarZ7ZbeO

— Aditya Rathore (@imAdityaRathore) December 28, 2023

The eight personnel, Purnendu Tiwari, Sugunakar Pakala, Amit Nagpal, and Sanjeev Gupta, who are Commanders, and Navtej Singh Gill, Birendra Kumar Verma, and Saurabh Vasisht, who are Captains, and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar have been in jail since August last year after being handed death sentences on October 26. Indian prisoners in Qatar under a 2015 agreement can be brought back to serve their remaining sentence in India.

The Indian government contends that the person employed to build the Qatari Navy were never engaged in espionage against Israel, the allegations brought forward by the Qatar court. Since PM Narendra Modi met the Qatari ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on the side-lines of CoP28 summit in Dubai, there has been speculation that the issue was raised. As of now, both governments continue to work on this developing story.