Qatar drops death sentence for 8 Indians on reported charges of spying for Israel

A Qatar court has dropped the death sentence for eight Indians arrested in the country last year, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The eight men employed by a Qatari company, who were reportedly charged with espionage on behalf of Israel, were handed the death penalty in October.

According to reports in Indian media, the eight were arrested last year on suspicion of spying for the Jewish state on Qatar’s military submarine program.

Qatar has not commented on the case and the charges have not been made public. Local authorities provided New Delhi with consular access to the eight Indian nationals during their trial.

The sentences came at a sensitive time amid the Israel-Hamas war, as Qatar had been playing a key intermediary role in negotiating the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by the Palestinian terror group, as well as the entrance of humanitarian aid for Gaza’s civilian population.

According to Indian media reports, the eight men were retired Indian navy officers, some of whom commanded warships during their service, who had worked for the consulting company Al Dahra, advising the Qatari government on the acquisition of submarines.

Al Dahra is a Gulf-based company that offers “complete support solutions” to the aerospace, security and defense sectors, according to its website.

India’s ambassador and family members were in court for the appeal hearing, New Delhi said, adding that the government will “continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities.”

It said further comment was not appropriate “due to the confidential and sensitive nature” of the case.

In October, India said it was “shocked” after the Qatari court sentenced them to death.

Millions of Indians live and work in the Gulf, a large number of them as semi-skilled or unskilled workers. They constitute an important source of income for India and contribute to the success of Gulf economies.

Due to their close ties, the wealthy Gulf monarchy Qatar has acted as a communications channel with Hamas and played a key role in negotiating the release 105 of the hostages currently held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s murderous assault on Israel on October 7, in which some 1,400 were killed, the vast majority of them civilians.

In past rounds of violence, Qatar also played a role in brokering ceasefires between Israel and Gazan terror groups.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.