NEW DELHI: The case of the eight naval veterans who are facing the death sentence in Qatar is likely to find mention during the upcoming visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Delhi for the 2+2 meet, according to a source. It cannot be ruled out that India is seeking intervention of other countries to get these naval veterans repatriated.
“There has been a buzz of back channel talks to repatriate these eight naval veterans, which includes other countries,” said a source.
The death penalty was announced for these eight naval veterans on October 26, which sent shockwaves across the country. The case and the punishment was not anticipated and has been unprecedented.
It may be recalled that the eight naval veterans were working for a company called Dahra Consultancies in Doha before they were picked up for interrogation by Qatar's interior ministry on August 30, 2022. They were jailed subsequently and charges were framed against them.
Out of the six charges that were levelled against the eight naval veterans, three have been nullified in the judgement. The remaining three charges have the same punishment.
The legal head, representing the eight veterans, has already filed an appeal against the verdict and will await the next hearing.
"The eight naval veterans when they heard the verdict on October 26th didn’t realise what had been said as the announcement was a brief one made in Arabic. It was only subsequently that they learnt about it. They are deeply shattered and have reaffirmed that they have done nothing against the Qatari law," said a person familiar with the matter.
Family members are in a frenzy. Some have begun signature campaigns to make people aware of the case and garner more support which they feel will help in the repatriation of the veterans.
Meanwhile, sources say that there is talk of the family members of these veterans being asked to sign an 'indemnity bond', details of which are not clear but it does bind them to a few rules as a result of which some are reluctant to ink it.