The legal team of eight former Indian Navy personnel, arrested in an alleged case of espionage, has filed an appeal against the death sentence handed out to them by a Qatari court. The Qatari Court of First Instance handed the death sentence to the eight Indian nationals on October 26, which the Indian government described as “extremely shocking”. The charges against the eight men have not been made public by either the Qatari or Indian authorities. The men were tried under Qatari law.

During its weekly media meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the copy of the “judgment is confidential and has only been shared with the legal team”. Further legal steps are being pursued and an appeal has been filed, said Bagchi. “We will also remain engaged with the Qatari authorities on this matter,” he added. The Indian embassy was granted consular access to them on November 7. Bagchi reiterated that India will continue to extend all legal and consular support in the case.

The former officers had been contracted by a private firm to provide training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces. According to sources, they were employed to oversee the induction of Italian small stealth submarines U2I2. The former officers had been with the Indian Navy for up to 20 years and had “unblemished stints”. The personnel include decorated officers who commanded major Indian warships. Some of them even worked on highly sensitive projects including Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics.

Those sentenced are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr. Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh Dahra.

Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, the company where the men worked in Qatar, closed its operations in Doha in May, and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met the families of the accused days after they were handed the death sentence and conveyed that the government attaches “the highest importance” to the case. He added that the government would make all efforts to secure the release of the eight men.