8 former Indian Navy personnel in Qatar given 60 days to appeal against prison terms
New Delhi, Jan 4: The eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel in Qatar have been given 60 days' time to appeal against the varying prison terms handed by a Qatari court last week that came following commutation of their death sentences, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
The Court of Appeal in Qatar on December 28 commuted the death sentence handed down to the Indians in October and sentenced them to prison for varying durations, weeks after their family members filed an appeal against the earlier order by another court.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the legal team of the Indian nationals received a copy of the court order that he described as a "confidential document".
"On December 28, the Court of Appeal had given a judgement. Thereafter, we issued a press release giving details (and) telling that the death penalty has been reduced. Now, we have the judgement order, which is a confidential document," he said.
Jaiswal was responding to a question.
"The court has given 60 days for the appeal to be made before the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Qatar. And it is for the legal team now to decide the next course of action. So, that is where we are," he added.
The spokesperson further added: "What we can confirm to you is that the death penalty has now been converted into varying prison sentences for the eight Indian nationals."
"We are in touch with the family members. We are also in touch with the legal team," Jaiswal said.
It is learnt that the prison terms handed to the former Indian Navy personnel ranged from three years to 25 years.
The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance.
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.
The charges were filed against the eight Indian navy veterans on March 25 and they were tried under Qatari law.
All of the former Navy officers had "unblemished stints" of upto 20 years in the Indian Navy and had held important positions including that of instructors in the force.
In May Al-Dhara Global closed its operations in Doha and all those working there (primarily Indians) have since returned home. It is learnt that India is also looking at the possibility of invoking provisions of a bilateral pact on the transfer of sentenced persons.
The pact signed between India and Qatar in 2015 provides for citizens of India and Qatar who have been convicted and sentenced for criminal offences to serve their sentences in their home country.
However, there was no clarity on whether Qatar had ratified the agreement.
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Rupee falls 28 paise to 94.77 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 28 paise to 94.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as market sentiment took a dramatic turn after reports emerged that the US and Iran are discussing a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing tensions and reopening negotiations.
Forex traders said Brent oil prices, which had fallen to USD 98 on the US-Iran peace deal, edged slightly higher to USD 101 per barrel after investors weighed the prospects for a Middle East peace deal.
Moreover, factors such as unabated foreign capital outflows amid rising geopolitical uncertainties further dented investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.77 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 28 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 69 paise to close at 94.49 against the US dollar.
"Markets are currently focused on the critical 48-hour window during which the US expects Tehran’s formal response through Pakistani mediators," said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.01, down 0.01 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.65 per cent at USD 101.83 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 160.24 points to 77,798.28 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 30.25 points to 24,300.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,834.90 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, the country's goods and services exports rose 4.6 per cent to an all-time high of USD 863.11 billion during 2025-26, up from USD 825.26 billion in 2024-25, despite global economic uncertainties, according to revised commerce ministry data.
Merchandise exports grew 0.93 per cent to USD 441.78 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 437.70 billion in 2024-25, the data showed.
