Qatar death row: What are the options before India to secure release of 8 former Navy officials?

The families of convicted Indians are seeking PM Modi's “personal intervention”.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on October 30 met the family members of eight former Navy officials who were given death sentence by a Qatar court. He conveyed to the family members that the Centre will make all efforts to secure the release of these Indian nationals.

“Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families,” Jaishankar said on X.

Meanwhile, as per Indian Express, Meetu Bhargava, sister of Commander Purnendu Tiwari who is among the eight on death row Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “personal intervention” to bring all eight Indians back.

According to experts, India must pursue all efforts to ensure the Naval veterans, reportedly accused of espionage, are released. Let us look at the options before India now.

What can India do now?

“Multiple options exist,” said Syed Akbaruddin, former Indian envoy to the United Nations and an expert on the Gulf region. Akbaruddin told The Hindu about a 2015 agreement on the transfer of sentenced prisoners in case India’s appeal for clemency is accepted. “In short, there is enough space to address the sensitive but unprecedented issue in a manner that preserves the trajectory of bilateral ties,” Akbaruddin told the newspaper. He also said a final decision on the implementation of the judicial outcome could be made by Qatar’s head of state. According to First Post, Qatar allows the Emir to pardon convicts typically on Qatar’s National Day which falls on December 18. It is hoped that a resolution may come at the highest diplomatic level.

Also read: The 8 Indian men facing death penalty in Qatar

According to experts, India now has two major options. One will be to aid the arrested individuals to move the apex court of Qatar as the verdict was announced by a lower court of the country. The second one is to initiate proceedings before The International Court of Justice.

Senior advocate Anand Grover told India Today that the Centre can also use diplomatic pressure to prevent the death penalty. He said NGOs and civil society can raise the issue at a global level. However, he said since the details of the charges and verdict are not available so NGOs and media should also speak with caution on the issue.

"International law and ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) provisions say the death penalty should not ordinarily be given except in certain exceptional circumstances," the lawyer told India Today.

Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh were arrested by Qatar intelligence agency from Doha on August 30, 2022.