NEW DELHI: Days after a Qatar court commuted the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy personnel, the ministry of external affairs on Thursday said that it is discussing the next possible steps with the family members of the veterans as well as the legal team.
During a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the legal team has the order of the court which is confidential.
Jaiswal, however, confirmed that the personnel are no longer on death row.
He added that there is a two-month (60 days) time to appeal the case in the highest court of Qatar and the legal team is working on it.
Last month, in a major relief, a Qatari court dropped the death sentences given to the former Navy personnel.
The court handed sentenced them to prison for varying durations, weeks after their family members filed an appeal against the earlier order by another court.
The Navy veterans were sentenced to death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26.
It is learnt that the prison terms handed to the former Indian Navy personnel range from three years to 25 years.
The Indian nationals, who worked for private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in a case of espionage.
Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them public.
(With inputs from PTI)
During a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the legal team has the order of the court which is confidential.
Jaiswal, however, confirmed that the personnel are no longer on death row.
He added that there is a two-month (60 days) time to appeal the case in the highest court of Qatar and the legal team is working on it.
Last month, in a major relief, a Qatari court dropped the death sentences given to the former Navy personnel.
The court handed sentenced them to prison for varying durations, weeks after their family members filed an appeal against the earlier order by another court.
The Navy veterans were sentenced to death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance on October 26.
It is learnt that the prison terms handed to the former Indian Navy personnel range from three years to 25 years.
The Indian nationals, who worked for private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in a case of espionage.
Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them public.
(With inputs from PTI)