PANJIM: The Indian Navy is waiting for details of the death sentence order against the eight former Indian Navy personnel held in Qatar, the Indian Navy Chief said on Monday.
Admiral R Hari Kumar while addressing the media on the sidelines of the fourth Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) said that the Union government is making every effort to ensure relief for the Navy personnel.
Eight former Indian Navy personnel, who worked with private security company Al Dahra, were sentenced to death on October 26, a verdict that was described as "deeply shocking" by India as it vowed to explore all legal options in the case.
"I have not yet seen the transcript of the court hearing (that led to the death sentence)... it was supposed to have been transcribed and provided to us on Sunday... we will have a look at it," Admiral R Hari Kumar said. "You have heard the Ministry of External Affairs' statement on this. Every effort is being made by the government to ensure that... through the legal recourse...and find relief for our personnel."
The eight Indian Navy personnel --- 7 officers and a sailor --- were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage.
Charges against them were framed in March this year and the trials were held under Qatari laws.
The details of the case and the charges against them have not yet been made public both by Qatar and India.
On October 26, Qatar's Court of First Instance handed a death sentence to the naval veterans.
4th edition of GMC to focus on Maritime Security in Indian Ocean Region
Meanwhile, the Indian Navy Chief has hinted towards a positive outcome from the efforts taken during the previous edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave in which the participating countries had worked on identifying the problems faced by them.
A framework agreement between the nations is expected this year, Admiral R Hari Kumar added.
The 4th edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave is being held from 29 to 31 October by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Naval War College in Goa.
At the conclave, Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy is hosting Chiefs of Navies/ Heads of Maritime Forces/ Senior Representatives from 12 Indian Ocean littorals, including Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
The theme this year is "Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks". Half of the world’s container ships, one-third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments pass through this region.
The conclave is the Indian Navy's outreach initiative which provides a multinational platform to harness the collective wisdom of practitioners of maritime security and the academia towards garnering outcome-oriented maritime thought.
It also offers a forum for exchange of views by the Chiefs of Navy/ Heads of Maritime Agencies on dealing with contemporary and future maritime challenges, as well as presenting cooperative strategies for enhancing interoperability amongst partner maritime agencies.
Previous editions of the biennial event were held in 2017, 2019, and 2021.