India's EAM S Jaishankar meets families of Indians detained in Qatar
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar attends a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday (Oct 30) met with families of eightIndians who have been detained in Qatar.
In the meeting with the family members, Jaishankar said that all efforts will be made by the government to secure the release of the detained Indians.
After meeting the family members of those detained in Qatar, Jaishankar wrote on X, “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 co-ordinate closely with the families in that regard,” he added.
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The detained Indians whowere employed with Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provides training and other similar services to the armed forces of Qatar.
As per the reports, some of the officials were working on a highly sensitive project related to midget submarines. These submarines were using Italian technology and had stealth characteristics. The men were arrested in an alleged case of espionage in August last year, as per reports.
Indians face death sentence in Qatar
On Thursday (Oct 26), Qatar's Court of First Instance handed down the death sentence to the eight Indians.
The Ministry of External Affairs had stated that they were shocked by the verdict delivered and the issue will be taken up with Qatari authorities.
"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 ministry had stated.
"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," the statement read.
Watch |Gravitas: Qatar: 8 Indians sentenced to death. Why was the Dahra CEO let go?
To save the Indian nationals, the Indian government has the option of utilising a 2015 agreement between India and Qatar which is related to the transfer of sentenced prisoners. This agreement permits the nationals to complete their sentences in their respective home countries.
The charges against the Indian nationals were not made public either by Qatari authorities or New Delhi.
The Indians sentenced in Qatar are Navtej Singh Gill, Birendra Kumar Verma, Saurabh Vasisht, Amit Nagpal, Purnendu Tiwari, Sugunakar Pakala, Sanjeev Gupta and Ragesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
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