Jaishankar says that the government attaches highest importance to the case and will coordinate closely with the families…reports Asian Lite News
The government will continue to make all efforts to secure the release of eight Indian nationals sentenced to death in Qatar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said after meeting their families in New Delhi on Monday.
On October 26, 2023, a court in Qatar had awarded the death penalty to eight former Indian Navy officers who had been detained in the West Asian country for over a year.
“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families.
The Indian government had earlier expressed deep shock over the court verdict and said it was exploring all available legal options to secure the release of these Indian nationals.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
“We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities,” the MEA said. “Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” the MEA added.
While the Indian government as well as the Qatari authorities have not commented on the nature of the charges against the eight, some news reports have suggested that the former Indian Navy officers may have been charged with security-related offences.
The first hearing in the case was held on March 29, 2023 after it was referred to the court by the public prosecution. The Indian Embassy in Doha had been extending necessary consular as well as legal assistance to the detained Indians.
Meanwhile, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar said that the government is making every effort to ensure relief for the eight Indian personnel detained in Qatar. The eight Indians who now face the death penalty in Qatar for alleged spying are all former Naval personnel.
Speaking at an event in Goa, Kumar said, “The court hearing was supposed to be transcribed and provided to us on Sunday…but we heard the MEA statement on this.
“Every effort is being made by the government to ensure we take this up through the legal course and we get relief for our personnel,” he added.
This comes after the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed a verdict of the death penalty for the eight former naval officers who were detained in Doha.
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the families of eight Indians detained in Qatar and assured them that the government will make all efforts to secure their release.
The EAM said that the government attaches the “highest importance” to the case and will coordinate closely with the families in that regard.
“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that the Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,” Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it was “deeply shocked” by the verdict and now awaits the detailed judgement.
“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” the MEA said in a statement.
“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” it added.
The MEA further stated that the matter is very important to us, the MEA said adding that and they have been keeping a close eye on it.
“We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities,” the MEA release said.
“Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” it added. (ANI)
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