India will fight legal battle to bring back its eight former Navy personnel from Qatar: BJP

After a courtroom in Qatar pronounced demise sentences to eight former Indian Navy personnel, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday careworn that India will fight a legal battle to bring back all officers. Addressing a press convention, BJP nationwide spokesperson Ajay Alok stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is already trying into the matter. 

“India has duly placed its stand also on the issue. We are surprised to see that such things also happen. We will fight a legal battle in this matter. The International Court of Justice is there. I think the government of India will place its stand and we will definitely succeed in bringing them back from there,” Alok added. 

Tharoor expresses shock over verdict

Meanwhile, senior Congress chief Shashi Tharoor additionally expressed shock over the Qatar courtroom’s verdict and stated the complete case is shrouded in “mystery and opacity”. “Shocked to learn that Qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former Indian Navy officers. The details of the entire case are shrouded in mystery & opacity. Trust @MEAIndia & @PMOIndia will act immediately with the highest levels of the Qatar government to support an appeal and bring them home,” he wrote on ‘X’. 

Accusation towards Indian Navy personnel 

Earlier on Thursday (October 26), eight former Indian Navy personnel got the demise penalty by the Court of First Instance of Qatar. The verdict was described as “deeply shocking” by India and it vowed to discover all legal choices within the matter. In August 2022, the Indian nationals had been detained on suspicion of espionage. They had been working with a non-public firm Al Dahra. They had been accused of allegedly spying on a submarine programme.

What MEA has stated on the case? 

“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving eight Indian employees of Al Dahra company. 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 MEA stated on Thursday.

The MEA stated it will proceed to lengthen all consular and legal help to the Indians. “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,” it stated in a press release.

(With inputs from businesses) 

ALSO READ: Qatar courtroom sentences 8 former Indian Navy officers to demise, MEA to discover legal choices

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