Eight former Indian Navy personnel have been given the death penalty by a Qatar court on Thursday.
The Ministry of External Affairs said it is deeply shocked and is awaiting the detailed judgement in the case.
The Indian nationals, all employees of Al Dahra company, were taken into custody in August last year in an alleged case of espionage. However, the charges against them were not made public by Qatari authorities.
“We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company. 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,” the MEA said.
The foreign ministry said it has been closely following the case and will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities.
“We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities. Due to the confidential nature of the proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” the MEA said.
India’s ambassador to Qatar met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.