Qatar to spare Indians accused of spying

QATAR has dropped death sentences for eight former Indian naval officers accused of spying for Israel.

The naval veterans had reportedly been working for a private defence and security company in the gulf state when they were arrested and accused of espionage.

They have been held since August last year.

India’s foreign ministry said a verdict by Qatar’s court of appeal meant “the sentences have been reduced”, but did not provide further details.

Indian diplomats expressed shock when a death sentence was handed down earlier this year, but declined to comment on the reduced sentence “due to the confidential and sensitive nature” of the case.

The men have been named as Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdre Amit Nagpal, Cdre Sanjeev Gupta, Cdre Purnendu Tiwari, Cdre Sugunakar

Pakala. One sailor has simply been named as Ragesh, but has not been identified in full.

The eight men were employees of Al Dahra, a Gulf-based company, which offers “complete support solutions” to the aerospace, security and defence sectors, according to its website.

Some of the men are senior decorated officers who previously commanded warships.

The veterans are reported to have been working on a secret submarine project with Qatar’s navy.

Neither Qatar nor Israel have commented on the case and the charges have not been made public.

The case has complicated Qatar’s relationship with India, which has important trade relations with the Gulf monarchy.

More than 800,000 Indians work and live in Qatar. The gulf state is also a significant provider of natural gas to New Delhi.

Qatar’s role funding Hamas and playing host to its leadership figures has also made it a key middleman when it comes to negotiations in the war between Hamas and Israel.

The gulf state has been central in negotiations to release scores of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza after they were seized by Hamas in the Oct 7 attacks.

In October, Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s national security adviser, said that Qatar was becoming “an essential party and stakeholder in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions”. He added that the gulf state’s diplomatic efforts were “crucial at this time”.

Last Monday, Dec 18, David Barnea, the head of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, met with William Burns, the CIA director, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-thani, Qatar’s prime minister, in the Polish capital of Warsaw in an attempt to revive hostage negotiations.

It is rare for Qatar to implement the death penalty, with the gulf state’s last two executions being carried out in 2020 and 2003.