Qatar court commutes death sentences of 8 ex-Indian Navy personnel

A Qatari court on Thursday commuted the death sentence given to eight former Indian Navy personnel earlier this year and sentenced them to prison for varying durations, people familiar with the matter said.

The ruling by Qatar’s Court of Appeal came during the hearing of an appeal by the families of the eight men, who were detained in August 2022 on undeclared charges. Reports have suggested they were accused of espionage, though Qatari and



Indian authorities haven’t provided details of the charges against them.

The external affairs ministry said in a brief statement that Qatar’s Court of Appeal had “reduced” the sentences given to the eight men – Captains Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht, Commanders Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala, and sailor Ragesh – but provided no details. “The detailed judgement is awaited,” the statement said.