Nepal, Qatar agree to increase cooperation in various sectors
The governments of Nepal and Qatar on Wednesday reached agreements on bilateral cooperation in various sectors.
India’s appeal against the death penalty for eight former Indian Navy officers who were sentenced to death last month in an alleged espionage case has been approved by a court in Qatar. According to sources, the Qatari court will review the appeal before scheduling a hearing.
The eight men were reportedly detained for espionage in August 2022 by Qatar’s intelligence service. However, the accusations against them have not yet been made public by the Qatari authorities. The Court of First Instance in Qatar rendered a ruling against them last month after their bail pleas were denied many times.
Granted consular access to them, Indian authorities have been working to secure their release.
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The arrested Indian Navy veterans are Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar.
With a stellar service record spanning up to 20 years in the Indian Navy, all of the former Navy officers have held significant roles, including instructor in the force.
The sister of one of the former officials in custody, Meetu Bhargava, had approached the government for assistance in getting her brother released. She had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in in a post on X on June 8.
Her message, which was tagged to Prime Minister Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, said, “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 are brought back to India immediately without any further delay.”
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