Qatar commutes 8 former Indian Navy men’s death sentence: What has happened, why it matters for India

In October this year, a Qatari court sentenced the men to death, following which the MEA said it was “exploring all legal options”. What was the case about, and why is this commuting of charges significant for India? We explain.

Who are the eight former Navy men in Qatar?

Eight former Indian Navy personnel — Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh — were working in Qatar at Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a defence services provider company.

Of them, Commander Sugunakar Pakala (Retd) served as an engineering officer in the Navy, holding the unique record of crossing the equator twice aboard INS Tarangini, a 500-tonne sailship. A decorated officer, he received a commendation from the commander-in-chief (C-in-C).

Another one of the men, Managing Director Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), was recognised in 2019 by the Indian government with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award. The prize recognises the contributions of Indian-origin people living abroad, and the MEA website lists Tiwari’s field as ‘Training and Simulation’.

Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services’s previous website said it provided training, logistics and maintenance services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force (QENF). As per the new website, the company was called Dahra Global and there was no mention of the connection to the QENF. It also did not mention that most of the Indian officers had leadership roles. They had been working here for four to six years when the Qatari intelligence agency State Security Bureau’s officials arrested them.

What were the charges against the men?

The men were arrested in August 2022. At the time, MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi said that questions of charges of arrest “should be directed to the Qatari authorities”. The family members and MEA officials also said that Qatar had not informed them of the charges.

Sources said the Indians had been working in their private capacity with Dahra Global to oversee the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2. According to a report in the Financial Times at the time of the death sentences being announced, “A person briefed on the case confirmed… that the eight Indians had been charged with spying for Israel.”

The men met India’s Ambassador in Doha in October 2022 and received limited access to relatives via phone calls. It was later learnt that they were undergoing solitary punishment.

In March 2023, the last of multiple bail pleas filed for the veterans was rejected. The trial began later that month and on October 26, the death sentence was handed. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar then met the family members of the sentenced men.

In November, the MEA announced it had filed an appeal and that its legal team had details of the charges. The Indian ambassador in Doha also met them in prison on December 3. This consular access came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1.

What avenues have been available to India?

One has been the legal challenge, which has been admitted and helped reduce the sentence for now as a first step. At the same time, India has been employing diplomatic channels to reach out to the Qataris.

The families also filed a mercy plea with the Emir of Qatar, who is known to give out pardons during Ramadan and Eid. This was also being pursued by the Indian government’s help.

Given the confidential nature of the case, and that the accused are former Indian defence personnel, India needed to secure a breakthrough. Further, Qatar is an important partner of India and the two countries enjoy a deep relationship. Qatar has around 8 lakh Indian migrants, who send remittances back home. In FY 2021-22, it sent the eighth-highest amount of remittances among all countries.

Apart from people-to-people ties, there are deep economic and defence links. As The Indian Express earlier reported, “India’s total imports from Qatar in FY2022-23 were valued at $16.81 billion, of which LNG imports alone were worth $8.32 billion, or 49.5%, an analysis of official trade data shows.”

The first big challenge to the relationship came in June 2022 over BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s derogatory references to the Prophet on a TV show, as the Qatari government demanded a public apology from India. In this context, India needed another source of tension in the ties to be diffused.