Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice to discuss death penalty to 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel in Qatar

On Monday, Congress MP Manish Tewari submitted an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha to address the death sentence handed down to eight former Indian Navy personnel by a Qatari court. The Court of First Instance of Qatar recently issued a verdict imposing the death penalty on these individuals, who were employees of Dahra Global, a Doha-based private defense services provider. They were arrested in August 2022 on charges of espionage.

India strongly condemned the ruling, deeming it “deeply shocking,” and initiated diplomatic efforts to engage with Qatar on the matter. In November, the Qatari court accepted India’s appeal against the death penalty for the eight former naval personnel, and consular access was granted to them on November 7. The details of the Qatar court’s judgment remain confidential, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had previously met with the family members of the detained individuals, assuring them of the government’s full support. New Delhi has been actively pursuing consular access and working towards securing the release of the eight Indian nationals. Their initial trial took place in late March.