Qatar has found eight Indian citizens guilty of espionage and has given them the punishment of death. This decision was made after the Indian government reported that these individuals were detained in Doha last year.
On Thursday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs expressed being very surprised by the decision and promised to discuss the matter with authorities in Qatar.
The statement said that we are talking to the family and lawyers and looking into all the legal choices available to us.
The people from India who used to work in the Indian Navy have been identified as ex-servicemen. This information was mentioned in a letter written by the External Affairs Minister, S, and the letter is dated December 23 of the previous year. Jaishankar, who was shared by Indian lawmaker Manish Tewari, on a social media platform called X, previously known as Twitter.
Tewari says he received a letter as a response to his concerns about the unfair imprisonment of retired Navy officers, which he had raised in parliament.
MajorGeneral(retired) Satbir Singh, who leads the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said that the families of the men were very sad and upset.
“He said that these guys went to teach the Qatar Navy people, but now they are getting accused for spying. ”
Singh said the group has been supporting the men since they were kept in custody last year. They have been sending letters to important Indian government officials, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to fight for their rights.
Out of the group of eight people, seven were in charge and one was a person who worked on a ship, according to what he said.
They are all older men who have different health problems that require care. The families are very upset and saddened by the news,” Singh said.
The Indian government did not provide any specific information about the accusations or the final decision. They also didn’t reveal the names of the people involved. However, they mentioned that the individuals were working for a company called Al Dahra, which is located in Qatar.
According to the United Nations, there are many Indian workers in Qatar. They make up a big part of the 2 million foreigners who work in the country. In fact, 95% of all workers in Qatar are from other countries.