On Thursday, the Court of First instance of Qatar sentenced eight former Indian navy officers to death after convicting them of spying.

New Delhi: A local court in Qatar Thursday awarded the death penalty to Eight former Indian Navy personnel after being convicted of espionage. Responding to the Qatari court’s verdict, India termed the decision as “deeply shocking” even as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is exploring all legal options in a bid to provide relief to the convicted Indian nationals.

In August last year, eight former Indian Navy personnel– all employees of the Al Dahra company, were arrested by Qatari authorities for alleged espionage. However, charges levelled against the Indian citizens were not made public by Qatar.

In a statement, the MEA said it is attaching “high importance” to this case and is exploring all legal options. “We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving eight Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” it said.

“We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,” it said.

The MEA said it will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance to the Indians.

“We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities,” it said in a statement.

“Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” it added.

India’s ambassador to Qatar met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.

On Thursday, the Court of First instance of Qatar sentenced eight former Indian naval officers to death after convicting them of spying. The eight Indian nationals were detained in Doha last year for allegedly spying on a submarine programme.

The Indian nationals had their first trial in late March.

Meetu Bhargava, a Gwalior resident and sister of one the detained officers, sought help from the Indian government to bring her brother back.

In a post on X on June 8 she had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.

“These Ex Navy officers are the pride of the nation & again I request our Hon’ble Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all are brought back to India immediately without any further delay pl. @narendramodi @AmitShah @rajnathsingh @MOS_MEA” she posted on X.

(With inputs from agencies)