Former Indian Navy Personnel Granted 60 Days to Appeal Qatar Court Decision

Days without Qatar’s appellate magistrate reduced the death sentences of eight former Indian Navy personnel, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spoken on Thursday that their legal team has a 60-day window to file an request in the Magistrate of Cassation, Qatar’s highest court.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “The legal team has now got a reprinting of the magistrate order, which is confidential in nature. Our legal team is working on this issue, and we are in touch with the families and the legal team.”

Jaiswal emphasized that the matter is pending in the Qatari court, and he would not share the detailed judgment due to its sensitive and legal nature. While the death penalty has been commuted for all eight men, they have been awarded varying prison sentences.

Among the eight former Navy personnel, one has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, four to 15 years each, two to 10 years each, and one to three years, equal to sources. The sailor received the most lenient sentence, while the Managing Director of Dahra Global, among them, received the harshest.

The former Navy personnel – Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh – were associated with Doha-based Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a defense services provider company. They were taken into custody in August 2022 and faced charges, never publicly disclosed, related to spying for Israel, equal to reports.

India filed an request versus the death penalty, and six hearings have been held so far. The Indian Ambassador in Doha met the Navy veterans in prison on December 3 for the first time since their death sentences were announced. The legal team will now use the 60-day period to decide the next undertow of whoopee in the legal process.