Case of 8 former marines stranded in Qatar, Foreign Ministry told, what will be India’s next step

India on Friday said that the next step will be decided after considering the decision of the Qatari court in the case related to eight former Indian Navy personnel and discussing with the legal team related to the subject. Qatar’s appellate court has reduced the death sentence awarded to former navy personnel.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters, ‘The welfare of Indians and their family members is our prime concern.’ He said, ‘We will discuss with the legal team and the family members about the possible next steps.’ Said that this is a sensitive matter so he will not say anything more than this.

The Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement on Thursday that a Qatari court has commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel in an alleged espionage case, providing a major relief to them. He was arrested in August last year. The ministry had said, “We have reduced the sentence of Indians in the decision of the appellate court of Qatar in the ‘Dahara Global’ case.”

However, the ministry did not clarify what the ‘reduced’ punishment was. He said, ‘Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the proceedings in this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comments at this time.’

Eight former Navy personnel were arrested in August 2022 on espionage charges and a Qatari court sentenced them to death in October. All the Indian citizens were employees of Doha-based ‘Dahara Global’ company. The charges against him were not made public by Qatari authorities.

The private company provides training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies. India had approached the appellate court in Qatar last month against this sentence.