NEW DELHI: An appeal has been filed by the legal team representing the eight Indian Navy veterans arrested in the Dahra Global case in Qatar’s Cassation Court.
This is the first appeal filed after the judgement was announced on December 28 in the court of appeal where the death sentence was commuted into jail terms for all the eight naval veterans.
The former navy officers, who were working for Doha-based Dahra Global were arrested in August 2022. The charges against the 8 navy officers have not yet been revealed by the Qatar court.
“The families who were in Doha for a few weeks before the last appeal was heard on December 28, had signed the appeal papers that have been submitted in the Cassation court. Most of them have returned to India. Even though the death sentence has been commuted, there are varying jail terms for each of them — from three years (which has been awarded to Sailor Ragesh) up to 25 years,” said a source.
The appeal will be heard in the Cassation court, a few times before another announcement is made for the eight veterans- repatriation is what everyone is hoping for. A cassation court is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. It is the highest court of appeal.
Courts of Cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. The eight naval veterans, who have been under detention in Qatar are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwar, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh.