Hyderabad: As a court in Qatar commuted the death sentence of eight ex-Indian Navy veterans, arrested in August last year in the Dahra Global 'espionage' case as confirmed the External Affairs Ministry, here is a look at the timeline of the events around the case.
August 2022- Qatari authorities arrested former Indian naval officials on vague charges. Following a significant time of detainment, the Qatari officials said that the eight ex naval officials were spying on Qatar's secret submarine program for Israel. The incident came to the spotlight when the Indian Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) named it a "high priority" case.
September 2022-The primary bail plea of the imprisoned Indian officials was held a month after they were captured and kept in isolation and the plea was rejected. New Delhi had the consular access to the eight prisoners and has attempted to secure their release, yet has been told by Doha that the evidence suggests the former officials passed on intelligence to Israel. Qatari officials have also claimed that they hold electronic proof of their involvement.
October 2022- The Qatari authorities granted the first consular access to the arrested Navy veterans on Oct 3, 2022.
March 2023- In late march, the Indian nationals had their first trial in the case in the Qatar court. On March 15 this year, the last bail plea of the Navy veterans was rejected by the court. On March 25 this year, the Qatari authorities filed the charge sheet against the eight Navy veterans and on March 30, Dahra Global, which employed the Navy veterans closed operations.