Who are the 8 Indian Navy veterans who have been given the punishment of death by a court in Qatar and what are the reasons for their conviction.
3 min read 2023-10-27, 12:10 AM IST
Last year, eight ex-Indian Navy people were caught in Qatar. Even though diplomatic efforts have been ongoing, no progress has been made yet. The Middle East region really needs to make this decision at the perfect time. A court in Qatar has recently decided to execute these former Navy workers. They were arrested on August 30, 2022, and have been kept alone in prison ever since. The trial officially started on March 29 of this year.
The Ministry of External Affairs is very surprised and upset about the decision to give a death penalty. They are anxious to read the complete judgment. Moreover, the Ministry stated that it is actively looking into all the legal choices it has.
The public has not been told why these veterans are being kept in Qatar for a longer time than expected, and why the decision to give them the death penalty was made. In addition, the families of these veterans have not been told about the exact reasons why the trial is happening.
This situation is a big challenge for the Indian government because they have to deal with the complicated issues involving the ex-Navy personnel in Qatar.
Who are these people from India, and why were they in Qatar.
Eight former Indian Navy personnel who were working for a defense services provider company called Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services. This company is owned by a person from Oman named Khamis al-Ajmi. He used to be a squadron leader in the Royal Oman Air Force before retiring. It is important to note that Khamis al-Ajmi was held in custody with eight Indian personnel, but he was released in November 2022.
The old website of the company is not available anymore. It showed that the company provided training, logistics, and maintenance services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force. However, the website called Dahra Global does not say that it is connected to the QENF or the seven Navy officers who used to work there.
Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retired) was given an award called Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019. He got this award because he helped make the relationship between India and Qatar stronger while he was the Managing Director of the company. He received this award in Doha, where he was acknowledged by the previous Indian Ambassador, P Kumaran, and a former leader of Qatar’s defense forces‘ International Military Cooperation. This event happened at the Indian Cultural Centre. Captain Kapil Kaushik, from the Indian Navy and who worked at the Embassy of India, was present.
The Dahra website used to show certificates from Kumaran and Deepak Mittal, the new ambassador at the Indian Embassy in Doha. These certificates praised the company for its efforts in improving the relationship between the two countries. Many of the people who were arrested had been working at Dahra for four to six years when they were taken into custody.
