Why in news?

• Eight former personnel of the Indian Navy, who were detained in Doha in 2022, have been sentenced to death by a Qatari court.
• They were arrested by Qatari authorities on August 30, 2022 and have since been under solitary confinement.

What’s in today’s article?

• India – Qatar Bilateral Relation
• News Summary

India – Qatar Bilateral Relation

• High-level visits
  • The two countries have had friendly relations for decades.
  • Since PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Qatar in November 2008, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, the relationship has burgeoned.
  • The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, visited India in 2015, and PM Modi went to Qatar in 2016.
  • The late Sushma Swaraj became the first Indian Foreign Minister to visit Qatar in 2018.
• Bilateral trade
  • In 2021, India was among the top four export destinations for Qatar; it is also among the top three sources of Qatar’s imports.
  • The bilateral trade is valued at $15 billion, which is mostly LNG and LPG exports from Qatar worth over $13 billion.
• Defence co-operation
  • Defence co-operation has been officially described as a “pillar” of Indian-Qatar ties.
  • The India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed during PM Singh’s November 2008 visit, was a significant turning point. The agreement was extended for another five years in 2018.
  • Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships regularly visit Qatar. QENF delegations participated in two maritime exercises in India in 2021.
  • Two editions of a joint naval exercise called Zair Al Bahr have been held.

Challenges in the relationship

• BJP spokesperson’s derogatory references to the Prophet on a TV show
  • The first big challenge to the relationship came in June 2022 over BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s derogatory references to the Prophet.
  • Qatar was the first country to object, and demand a “public apology” from India soon after the controversy erupted.
• Jailing of the eight ex-Navy personnel
  • The development blindsided New Delhi in a country where 800,000 Indians live and work. Indians are the largest expatriate community in Qatar.
  • Its 210-strong delegation at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas event in Indore last year was the second biggest, next only to the Mauritius delegation.
• The boil over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza
  • The news of the death penalty for the Indians has come at a time when the Middle East is on the boil over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
  • Qatar, which is deeply sympathetic to the Palestinians, has mediated the release of two American hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza, and the country’s diplomats are said to be working as a regional mediator in the crisis.

News Summary: Qatar court sentences 8 Indian Navy veterans to death

• The officers were jailed on charges that have not been made public.
• Responding to the development, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed shock over the verdict and said India will take up the matter with Qatari authorities.

Who are these Indians and what were they doing in Qatar?

• The eight former Navy personnel were working at Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a defence services provider company.
  • Most of the arrested men had been working at Dahra for four to six years at the time of their arrests.
  • Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), who was Managing Director of the company, received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for his services in furthering the bilateral relationship between India and Qatar.
• The company is owned by an Omani national, Khamis al-Ajmi, a retired squadron leader of the Royal Oman Air Force.
  • This man too, was arrested along with the eight Indians, but he was released in November 2022.
• The company’s old website, which no longer exists, said it provided training, logistics and maintenance services to the Qatari Emiri Naval Force (QENF).

When were the men arrested by the Qatari authorities, and why?

• The men were picked up by the State Security Bureau, the Qatari intelligence agency. The Indian Embassy first learnt about the arrests in mid-September last year.
• On September 30, the men were allowed “brief telephonic contact” with their family members.
• The first consular access — a visit by an official of the Indian embassy — was granted on October 3, more than a month after they were taken into custody.
• The charges against the men were never made public, but the fact they were put in solitary confinement led to speculation that they had been detained in connection with a security-related offence.

India’s stance

• The Ministry of External Affairs has been closely monitoring the situation, and has extended every possible support to the arrested sailors.
• The matter has been taken up at various diplomatic and political levels
• In addition to the GoI’s efforts, the families of the former Navy personnel have also filed a Mercy Plea to the Emir of Qatar, who is known to grant pardons during Ramadan and Eid.