Death Sentence to Indian Nationals Could Roil India-Qatar Relations

India’s relations with Qatar, which have warmed considerably over the last 15 years, have hit a bit of turbulence. On October 26, Qatar’s Court of First Instance handed out a death penalty to eight former Indian Navy personnel working with Al Dahra Global Technologies, an Oman-headquartered private defense services provider.

Qatari intelligence agents arrested the eight Indian men on August 30 last year and they have been in jail since.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it was “deeply shocked” by the verdict but refused to comment on the case due to the “confidential nature of proceedings.” It has formally filed an appeal with Qatar. 

Neither India nor Qatar has disclosed the nature of the charges against the eight men. However, according to media reports, they were found guilty of espionage activities on behalf of Israel. They were reportedly spying on a confidential Qatari navy project to acquire Italian midget submarines with stealth capabilities.

The Indian government’s handling of the case so far is sparking criticism at home. The government has been slammed for not defusing the crisis at its early stages. Why didn’t New Delhi leverage its close ties with Qatar to free the eight men last year or ensure a milder sentence? That the Indian government was “shocked” by the verdict suggests that it could have been contrary to assurances that the Qatari authorities may have given their Indian counterparts. It is also possible that India misread the Qataris and overestimated its capacity to influence them.

There have been other wrinkles in the relationship that India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government may have underestimated. In June last year, for instance, when BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made offensive remarks about the Prophet Mohammed on primetime television, the Qatari government summoned the Indian ambassador in Doha and handed him an official note that expressed “total rejection and condemnation” of Sharma’s remarks. Scrambling to put out the fire, the BJP government distanced itself from her comments and said such views are held by “fringe elements.” 

A couple of months later came the arrest of the retired Indian naval officers. Did Indian officials underestimate the changing mood in Doha?

New Delhi is faced with an unprecedented situation. The lives of eight former naval officers are on the line. The allegations leveled against them are serious. While this is not the first time that Indian nationals are facing the death sentence on spying charges abroad – former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was convicted in Pakistan on spying charges and handed the death penalty in April 2017, remains in jail there – New Delhi finds itself in a trickier situation vis-à-vis Qatar. 

In the case of Pakistan, India could easily dismiss Islamabad’s allegations as the rants of an India-obsessed country. The latest incident, however, involves Qatar, a country with whom India has worked hard to improve ties. Bilateral relations have grown in recent years, so its actions can’t be chalked up to traditional enmity.  

India’s trade with Qatar was worth $15 billion in 2021-22. While Qatar is India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), accounting for over 50 percent of India’s total LNG imports, India is among Qatar’s top four export destinations. Defense cooperation, one of the main “pillars” of India-Qatar ties, is growing. Since 2008, the two countries have had a security agreement under which India trains the Qatari navy.

Around 800,000 Indians are living and working in Qatar. They account for 21.8 percent of the tiny country’s population. While Indian expatriates have contributed significantly to Qatar’s economy and society, they are also an important source of remittances for India.

Much is at stake and how India proceeds on the case will not only have implications for the fate of the eight men but also for bilateral relations. 

India has several options. One is the Qatari legal route. India has already appealed against the verdict and will be hoping that higher courts will free the men or reduce the sentence. But the Qatari judicial system is opaque and hard to predict. Besides, the nature of the charges – espionage  – will hamper India’s efforts to get a reprieve for the eight men. Should India ask Qatar for evidence to prove the allegations, Qatar could simply refuse, “citing national security concerns,” Vivek Mishra, a research fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, was cited by Scroll as saying. 

Another option is seeking a pardon from the Qatari emir. However, to seek a pardon presumes an admission of guilt. In this case, the eight convicts and the Indian government have denied the spying charges.

India could also take the case to the International Court of Justice, as it did with Jadhav’s case. But will India want to jeopardize its relations with Qatar by crossing swords with it in the ICJ? The ICJ option will be India’s last resort. 

India could also ask governments that are close to Qatar to mediate. But in a case involving espionage charges, other states may be reluctant to intervene. Besides, the case is unfolding at a time with the world and especially the Middle East is already grappling with a larger crisis  – the Gaza war. The attention of Qatari diplomats, indeed of many powers including the United States, is focused on Israel and Hamas, not on eight Indian convicts. 

Indian experts say that diplomatic dialogue is India’s best bet. This will involve using not just diplomatic channels to converse with Qatari officials but also prominent expatriate Indians with contacts with the Qatari royal family. In 2005, India and Qatar signed an agreement under which Indians convicted in Qatar can be brought back to India to serve the remaining part of their sentences. India will be looking to use this agreement to bring home its naval officers. 

But for this to work, the Qatari courts or the emir will have to reduce the sentence from death to a prison term.