Shashi Tharoor expresses shock over 8 Indians being given death penalty in Qatar, flags 'mystery, opacity'

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday expressed shock over eight former Indian Navy personnel being handed down the death sentence by a court in Qatar and said the entire case is shrouded in "mystery and opacity". The navy personnel were on Thursday handed down the death sentence by a court in Qatar, a verdict that was described as "deeply shocking" by India as it vowed to explore all legal options.

In a post on X, Tharoor said, "Shocked to learn that Qatar has passed a death sentence on eight former Indian Navy 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 and bring them home," the former minister of state for external affairs said.


The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.

In its reaction to the death sentence, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said it is attaching "high importance" to this case and is exploring all legal options.