Ambassadors Ashok Sajjanhar, Suresh K Goel and Robinder Sachdev
Nya 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 sade också att den detaljerade domen i fallet väntas och att de står i nära kontakt med det juridiska teamet i Qatar.
MEA tillade, "Den detaljerade domen väntas. Vi har nära kontakt med det juridiska teamet samt familjemedlemmarna för att besluta om nästa steg. Vår ambassadör i Qatar och andra tjänstemän var närvarande i hovrätten idag, tillsammans med familjemedlemmarna. Vi har stått för dem sedan ärendets början och vi kommer att fortsätta att utöka all konsulär och juridisk hjälp. Vi kommer också att fortsätta att ta upp frågan med de qatariska myndigheterna.”
De åtta indiska medborgarna har suttit fängslade i Qatar sedan oktober 2022 och anklagades för att ha spionerat på ett ubåtsprogram. Den pensionerade sjöpersonalen dömdes till döden av en domstol i Qatar på anklagelser som ännu inte har offentliggjorts officiellt.
Tidigare denna månad meddelade MEA att två utfrågningar har ägt rum i fallet.
– Det har varit två förhör. Vi överklagade, med familjerna, och fångarna hade en sista överklagan. Två förhör har sedan dess hållits. Den ena var den 30 november och den andra den 23 november. Jag tror att nästa utfrågning kommer snart, säger Bagchi.
Dessutom fällde Qatars förstainstansrätt domen mot dem, enligt ett uttalande från utrikesministeriet.
MEA-talesmannen lyfte också fram det senaste mötet som ägde rum mellan premiärminister Narendra Modi och emiren av Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad och sa att de har haft ett bra samtal om den övergripande bilaterala relationen.
Premiärminister Narendra Modi träffade Qatars emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani vid sidan av COP28-toppmötet i Dubai och diskuterade bilateralt partnerskap och "det indiska samhällets välbefinnande" som bor i Qatar.