Qatar court accepts India's appeal against death penalty for 8 ex-Navy personnel. What's next?

The situation has changed a bit for the 8 former Indianm Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar. In the latest development, the Qatari government has acknowledged the appeal against their death penalty. They have been detained in Doha since August 30, 2022.

What

• A Qatar court has agreed to review the Indian government's appeal concerning the death sentences handed to eight former Indian Navy members.
• The court is currently examining the appeal, with another hearing anticipated soon.
• This comes after the court in Qatar sentenced these eight ex-navy officials to death in October after their year-long detainment in Qatar.
• During the November 23 hearing, the court formally accepted the appeal document, prepared by a lawyer representing the families and supported by the Indian government, and will decide on a date for the next appeal hearing.

Background

• Eight former Indian Navy personnel received death sentences in Qatar.
• Some of these individuals once commanded major Indian warships and were employed by Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm providing training and related services to Qatar's armed forces.

Shocked to learn that #Qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former @IndianNavy officers. The details of the entire case are shrouded in mystery & opacity. Trust @MEAIndia & @PMOIndia will act immediately with the highest levels of the Qatar government to support an appeal…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 27, 2023

• According to the Financial Times, the Qatar government found them guilty of "spying for Israel on the Gulf state’s submarine programme".

• Reports suggest their involvement in a highly sensitive project related to Italian technology-based midget submarines with confidential features, but Qatar has accused them of espionage.

• They have been in custody since August 2022, and despite New Delhi's efforts to secure their release, bail requests have been consistently rejected since the trial began in March.

What's next?

According to Article 110 of the Penal Code of Qatar, espionage is considered a severe offence.

Hon'ble EAM statement on the efforts being made by the Government has really let us down & made to ponder whether by providing legal aid Indian Government has left their Ex Navy officers on the mercy of Qatar when these officers have been subjected to worst kind of punishment 1/3 https://t.co/lwi1Z7II1n

— Meetu Bhargava (@DrMeetuBhargava) June 8, 2023

Now, India did take the diplomatic or the legal route where they have appealed in the court against the death sentence, and as mentioned above the court has accepted the appeal against the death sentence and will review the whole thing, which can aid in decreasing the death sentence. 

The Mercy Plea

If this doesn't pan out, the navy personnel families have filed a mercy plea with the Emir of Qatar, who is known to give out pardons during Ramadan and Eid. This is also being pursued by the Indian government’s help. 

The government aid

The government's help is crucial here and if we look at the diplomatic ties, India has overall friendly relations with Qatar, and over the years, both Manmohan Singh (2008) and Narendra Modi (2016) have visited Qatar.

Not only this, both countries have good economic tie-ups with bilateral trade reaching as high as 15 billion dollars.

In October last year, Modi had spoken with the Emir, accepting his Diwali greetings and had conveyed India’s good wishes for a successful FIFA World Cup tournament scheduled to be held in Qatar. 

The Final try: ICJ

Now, if none of this works out, and if we see an unholy trail from Qatar, India can always appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Why ICJ?  In 2017 Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national, was sentenced to death in Pakistan on charges of espionage and sabotage, which India denied.

• The case proceeded in a military court with no transparency.
• India took the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which determined that Pakistan violated Article 36 of the Vienna Convention mandating prompt notification of an arrest to the individual's consulate.
• The ICJ directed Pakistan to reassess the trial and conviction procedures for Jadhav and granted India consular access.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) can intervene in death penalty disputes between countries if both nations agree to its jurisdiction. India has the option to submit an application detailing legal arguments. The ICJ can issue binding judgments, which may involve interim measures to stop executions.

Now, we must wait to see what unfolds next.

In the last execution case, in June 2018, a court in Qatar sentenced a Nepalese worker, Anil Chaudhary, to death by a firing squad for the murder of a Qatari citizen.