Jaishankar vows to secure release of Indians sentenced to death in Qatar

"Met this morning with the families of the eight Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that (the) government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families," Jaishankar said on X.

"Underlined that (the) government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard," he added.

The meeting came four days after a Qatari court sentenced the Indians to death, reportedly on charges of spying for Israel.

The Indians, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August 2022. Neither the Qatari nor Indian authorities has made public the charges against the Indian nationals.

The Indian government has described as “deeply shocking” the death sentence awarded to the Indians.

Naval veterans

The men, including decorated officers who once commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar's armed forces

Published reports have said some of them were working on a highly sensitive project -- Italian technology-based midget submarines with stealth characteristics.

The ministry of foreign affairs had earlier said: "We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty… We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options."

Those sentenced are Captains Navtej Singh Gill, Birendra Kumar Verma and Saurabh Vasisht and Cdrs Amit Nagpal, Purnendu Tiwari, Sugunakar Pakala and Sanjeev Gupta as well as Sailor Ragesh.

Meetu Bhargava, sister of one the former officers, had in June sought help from the Indian government to bring her brother back.

(With agency inputs)