The situation has changed a bit for the 8 former Indianm Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar. In the latest development, the Qatari government has acknowledged the appeal against their death penalty. They have been detained in Doha since August 30, 2022.
Shocked to learn that #Qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former @IndianNavy officers. The details of the entire case are shrouded in mystery & opacity. Trust @MEAIndia & @PMOIndia will act immediately with the highest levels of the Qatar government to support an appeal…
Reports suggest their involvement in a highly sensitive project related to Italian technology-based midget submarines with confidential features, but Qatar has accused them of espionage.
They have been in custody since August 2022, and despite New Delhi's efforts to secure their release, bail requests have been consistently rejected since the trial began in March.
According to Article 110 of the Penal Code of Qatar, espionage is considered a severe offence.
Hon'ble EAM statement on the efforts being made by the Government has really let us down & made to ponder whether by providing legal aid Indian Government has left their Ex Navy officers on the mercy of Qatar when these officers have been subjected to worst kind of punishment 1/3 https://t.co/lwi1Z7II1n
Now, India did take the diplomatic or the legal route where they have appealed in the court against the death sentence, and as mentioned above the court has accepted the appeal against the death sentence and will review the whole thing, which can aid in decreasing the death sentence.
If this doesn't pan out, the navy personnel families have filed a mercy plea with the Emir of Qatar, who is known to give out pardons during Ramadan and Eid. This is also being pursued by the Indian government’s help.
The government's help is crucial here and if we look at the diplomatic ties, India has overall friendly relations with Qatar, and over the years, both Manmohan Singh (2008) and Narendra Modi (2016) have visited Qatar.
Not only this, both countries have good economic tie-ups with bilateral trade reaching as high as 15 billion dollars.
In October last year, Modi had spoken with the Emir, accepting his Diwali greetings and had conveyed India’s good wishes for a successful FIFA World Cup tournament scheduled to be held in Qatar.
Now, if none of this works out, and if we see an unholy trail from Qatar, India can always appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Why ICJ? In 2017 Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national, was sentenced to death in Pakistan on charges of espionage and sabotage, which India denied.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) can intervene in death penalty disputes between countries if both nations agree to its jurisdiction. India has the option to submit an application detailing legal arguments. The ICJ can issue binding judgments, which may involve interim measures to stop executions.
Now, we must wait to see what unfolds next.
In the last execution case, in June 2018, a court in Qatar sentenced a Nepalese worker, Anil Chaudhary, to death by a firing squad for the murder of a Qatari citizen.
Qatar court acepts India's appeal against death penalty for 8 ex-Navy personnel. What's next?
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24.11.2023
The situation has changed a bit for the 8 former Indianm Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar. In the latest development, the Qatari government has acknowledged the appeal against their death penalty. They have been detained in Doha since August 30, 2022.
Shocked to learn that #Qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former @IndianNavy officers. The details of the entire case are shrouded in mystery & opacity. Trust @MEAIndia & @PMOIndia will act immediately with the highest levels of the Qatar government to support an appeal…
Reports suggest their involvement in a highly sensitive project related to Italian technology-based midget submarines with confidential features, but Qatar has accused them of espionage.
They have been in custody........
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