External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday met the family members of the eight Navy veterans who have been sentenced to death in Qatar and said the government is pursuing the case with the highest importance. The government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release, the foreign minister posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,” Jaishankar wrote.
On October 26, a Qatar court gave a death sentence to eight Indian men all formerly employed with the Indian Navy. They were arrested on undeclared charges, though believed to be espionage, in August 2022. All of them when they were arrested were working for a private company Dahra Global.
The ministry of external affairs expressed shock over the verdict and said it would contest the Qatar court verdict. “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” the MEA said in an official statement immediately after the verdict.
“We attach high importance to this case and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities,” it added.
