Ambassadors Ashok Sajjanhar, Suresh K Goel and Robinder Sachdev
New Delhi: After a Qatar court commuted the death sentence of eight Indian ex-Navy personnel, foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev hailed India’s diplomacy and said that the new verdict by the Qatari court is a big relief for the arrested personnel and their families.
“No doubt, you see diplomacy has also worked. It shows Prime Minister Modi met the mayor of Qatar on the sidelines of the CoP28 which was being held in Dubai recently. So this would have been certainly brought up by the PM with the mayor of Qatar,” he said.
He added, “The judgment by the Qatari court is indeed a huge, huge relief for the families in India. At the same time, there is still some distance ahead because what has happened, is whether the court has commuted or instead of the death sentence has handed some other judgment, which we do at least. As of now, the question will be what is the judgment that the court has now announced?.”
He said further, “Yes, we understand that the death sentence is no longer in the picture, which is a huge relief. But what else is, because the point is that if the court has kind of judged this as a different category of an episode, then is it a five-year sentence, a ten-year sentence, a 20-year sentence? How long would that sentence be? That is one. But the hope we have is that whatever the sentence in the coming days and months, that sentence could perhaps also be reduced so that we have these sailors back home as soon as possible.”
Additionally, Former diplomat Suresh K Goel also appreciated the Indian government’s efforts which resulted in commuting the sentence of Indian naval officers and hoped that if government could ensure their transfer to India in the coming days.
He stated, “After the efforts by the govt, their death sentence has been commuted, hope that in the coming days, with more efforts the sentence reduces further or if they can be transferred to India so that they can serve their rest of the sentence here…efforts will continue.”
Moreover, Former Diplomat, Ashok Sajjanhar said that the commuted sentence is a “welcome development” and added that this is not the end but a need to ensure that all officers would be brought back home safely.
He noted, ” It is a very welcome development, the whole country was really on an edge…the govt and all those who were involved with it were working very hard to ensure that this sentence is not carried out. This is the first positive development…but of course, this is not the end…we need to ensure that all these officers are brought back home safely with full dignity and all the charges against them are removed.”
The Qatari Court on Thursday commuted the death penalty sentence of eight ex-Indian naval officers it had arrested last year in the Dahra Global case, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press statement. The sentence has now been reduced to jail terms.
Describing the judgement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced.”
MEA a mai spus că se așteaptă hotărârea detaliată în caz și sunt în strânsă legătură cu echipa juridică din Qatar.
MEA a adăugat: „Se așteaptă o hotărâre detaliată. Suntem în strânsă legătură cu echipa juridică, precum și cu membrii familiei pentru a decide pașii următori. Ambasadorul nostru în Qatar și alți oficiali au fost prezenți astăzi la Curtea de Apel, împreună cu membrii familiei. Le-am sprijinit încă de la începutul chestiunii și vom continua să extindem toată asistența consulară și juridică. Vom continua, de asemenea, să discutăm chestiunea cu autoritățile din Qatar.”
Cei opt cetățeni indieni sunt închiși în Qatar din octombrie 2022 și au fost acuzați că ar fi spionat un program submarin. Personalul naval pensionat a fost condamnat la moarte de către un tribunal din Qatar pentru acuzații care nu au fost încă făcute publice oficial.
La începutul acestei luni, MEA a informat că au avut loc două audieri în cauză.
„Au fost două audieri. Am făcut contestație, la familii, iar deținuții au avut o contestație finală. De atunci au avut loc două audieri. Unul a fost pe 30 noiembrie, iar celălalt pe 23 noiembrie. Cred că următoarea audiere va avea loc în curând”, a spus Bagchi.
Mai mult, Tribunalul de Primă Instanță din Qatar a pronunțat hotărârea împotriva lor, potrivit unui comunicat al Ministerului Afacerilor Externe.
Purtătorul de cuvânt al MEA a subliniat, de asemenea, întâlnirea recentă care a avut loc între premierul Narendra Modi și emirul Qatarului, șeicul Tamim Bin Hamad și a spus că au avut o conversație bună cu privire la relația bilaterală generală.
Prim-ministrul Narendra Modi s-a întâlnit cu Emirul Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani în marginea summitului COP28 de la Dubai și a discutat despre parteneriatul bilateral și „bunăstarea comunității indiene” care trăiește în Qatar.