Jaishankar meets families of 8 Indians detained in Qatar, assures efforts on to secure release

Kathmandu: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met with the families of eight Indians detained in Qatar. He assured them that the government would make all efforts to secure their release.

The EAM said that the government attaches the "highest importance" to the case and will coordinate closely with the families in that regard.

'Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that the Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that the Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard,' Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).

This comes after the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed a verdict of the death penalty for the eight former naval officers who were detained in Doha. Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it was "deeply shocked" by the verdict and now awaits the detailed judgment.

'We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgment in the case involving 8 Indian employees of Al Dahra company,' the MEA said in a statement. 'We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the 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 added.

The MEA further stated that the matter is very important to us, the MEA said adding that and they have been keeping a close eye on it. '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,' the MEA release said.

'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. The eight Indian nationals have been imprisoned in Qatar since October 2022 and were accused of allegedly spying on a submarine program.

New Delhi had been granted consular access to the eight Indians and had been working to secure their release. The Indian nationals had their first trial in late March. (ANI)