External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that he has met the families of the eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been given the death sentence in Qatar. 

While a report in the Financial Times said the eight Indians have been charged with espionage for Israel, the Narendra Modi government earlier said it was waiting for the detailed judgment. Editorials in prominent dailies, meanwhile, have pointed to the lack of transparency on part of the Qatari authorities as well as the government’s diplomatic challenge during a “delicate moment” in the Middle East.

The Deccan Herald noted on Monday that how the “government expressed ‘shock’ at the verdict indicates that it was blindsided by the judgement, or that the verdict was contrary to assurances that Qatar might have given”. 

“This is an unprecedented situation for the Modi government,” it said, adding that this case is in stark contrast to the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, where the government could dismiss Pakistan’s claims as a “baseless rant by a hostile country”. “Simply put, India cannot deal with Qatar with the aggressive muscularity that it showed recently with Canada, or the disdain with which it generally treats Pakistan.”

Noting that Delhi has said it will use all legal and political options available to bring the men back home, it said that “it is encouraging that while not having the best human rights record, Qatar has carried out fewer judicial executions than India in the last two decades”. 

The Indian Express, in an editorial headlined “Get them from Doha to Delhi”, earlier noted that the case “is poised to test India's ties with the West Asian state”. “The Ministry of External Affairs has expressed ‘concern’ and said that it is ‘awaiting the detailed judgment’. This is a measured reaction – rightly so. At stake are the lives of eight Indian citizens. The charges against them have not been made public by the Qatari authorities.” 

“The government has pulled diplomatic levers at multiple levels to secure the release of Indian citizens. But its approach has also been informed by the imperative to respect the laws of a country where more than 8,00,000 Indians – the largest expatriate community in Qatar – live and work. Successive Indian governments have tried to build friendly ties with the gas-rich nation.”

“Doha’s intervention to secure the release of American hostages from Hamas has earned it the gratitude of President Biden. The conflict in West Asia, in fact, complicates New Delhi’s task. It should remain engaged in trying to help its citizens, use every diplomatic channel, but tread carefully,” it said.

Meanwhile, in an editorial headlined Qatar test for India’s resolve, the Hindustan Times pointed to the “mystery and uncertainty” that has surrounded the case of “the eight former Indian Navy personnel who were given the death sentence by a Qatari court, apparently on espionage charges”. 

“Both the Qatari and Indian sides have so far not publicly provided details of the charges that were brought against the eight men, including highly qualified professionals who have commanded frontline battleships and one who was recognised with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for enhancing India’s image abroad.” “The men have spent long spells in solitary confinement and went months without being able to contact their families, and how their trial has been conducted in Qatar can hardly be described as fair and transparent.”

An editorial in the Times of India had also noted that the “verdict, after in-camera trial, comes at a delicate geopolitical moment in the Middle East”. “This is a particularly tricky case for India not only because of the possibility that Qataris have levelled espionage charges against its citizens but also because this is happening in a Gulf state where India has invested a lot to improve bilateral relations”.

It said New Delhi has to tread very carefully due to India’s ties, Qatar’s rising influence, and the “regional intrigue between Gulf states, including different approaches to Israel”. “The upgrade in India-Qatar relations has virtually coincided with Doha’s own growing ambitions in the Middle East and India’s greater engagement with other Gulf states. Qatar punches well above its weight in regional stakes, as was exemplified by its resilience during the Saudi Arabia-led blockade against it between 2017-21. Qatar also hosts a plethora of opposition and militant movement leaders from the Islamic world, including from Palestinian Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, and Taliban. It houses American and Turkish military bases and simultaneously has a working relationship with Iran. In government-owned Al Jazeera broadcaster, Doha has an opinion-influencer in the region. Behind all this is, of course, Doha’s gas-fuelled financial muscle.”

An editorial in the Hindu said that “despite pleas from their families and Indian diplomats in Doha, Qatar has not explained why it has not divulged details of the case. Even the judgment has yet to be shared with New Delhi.” 

“Leaked reports suggest that the men have been accused of sharing secret information pertaining to the stealth submarine programme they worked on, with a third country, a charge their families have denied. Visits by Indian officials to Qatar to plead for leniency and transparency have been of no avail. While this case has some parallels to the case of former Naval Commander Jadhav, who is on death row too in Pakistan, the difference is that India’s ties with Qatar have been relatively better.” 

“The government must waste no time in charting the next steps to ensure the Indians are given the best possible support in an appeal. Apart from the legal appeals process and diplomatic legwork, channels to the Qatari leadership should be activated at the highest levels, including the Prime Minister if necessary. A case must be made for clemency and commuting the sentences to jail terms that could even be served out in India if the men are indeed found guilty in the appeals process,” it said.