Qatar court sentences 8 Indian Navy veterans to death: A timeline of the case

Indian government sources said the Qatari authorities have not provided the reasons for their arrest. Not many details of the case, including the alleged crime for which the men have been sentenced to death, are publicly known so far. This is a brief timeline of the case, and the response of the Indian government.

TIMELINE

2022

August 30: The eight men, along with two others, were arrested on undeclared charges. They were put in solitary confinement.

October 1: India’s Ambassador in Doha and Deputy Head of Mission met the eight naval veterans.

October 3: First Consular access was granted. CEO of Dahra Global Khamis al-Ajmi also came to get his officials out but was arrested himself. He spent two months in solitary confinement after which he was released on bail.

2023

March 1: The last of multiple bail pleas filed for the veterans was rejected.

March 25: Charges were filed against the eight men.

March 29: The trial, under Qatari law, began.

May 30: Dahra Global closed its operations in Doha. All former employees (primarily Indians) have since returned home.

August 4: The arrested men got some relief when they were shifted from solitary confinement and put in a jail ward with their colleagues, with two men to each cell.

October 26: The court awarded the death penalty to all eight men.

INDIA’S STANCE

As per government sources, the Ministry of External Affairs has been closely monitoring the situation, and has extended every possible support to the arrested sailors. The matter has been taken up at various diplomatic and political levels, and India and Qatar remain engaged.

The sources pointed out that “just like GOI cannot release a foreigner under trial in India, other countries also have their own judicial processes”.

India has maintained a stance similar to the one it took during the Enrica Lexie-Italian Marines case, in which two Indian fishermen were killed off the coast of Kerala, allegedly by two Italian marines aboard the Italian-flagged oil tanker MB Enrica Lexie.

In that case, the Indian government had taken a position in accordance with international laws, Maritime Zones Act, 1976, the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the provisions of UNCLOS 1982.

In addition to the GoI’s efforts, the families of the former Navy personnel have also filed a Mercy Plea to the Emir of Qatar, who is known to grant pardons during Ramadan and Eid.