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MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Indian Ambassador got consular access to meet them in prison on December 3 (Sunday). He was answering a question on the issue at a press conference in New Delhi.
“You would have seen Prime Minister Modi meet Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, the Amir of Qatar in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28. They’ve had a good conversation on the overall bilateral relationship as well as in the well-being of the Indian community…,” he said.
Bagchi added that India is closely following the matter and extending all legal and consular assistance.
#WATCH | MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi says, “You would have seen Prime Minister Modi meet Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, the Amir of Qatar in Dubai on the sidelines of CoP28. They’ve had a good conversation on the overall bilateral relationship as well as in the well-being of the… pic.twitter.com/PfcBKtKvnm
— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2023
“There have been two hearings. We filed an appeal, from the families, and the detainees had a final appeal,” he said, speaking of the appeals held on November 23 and 30.
“Meanwhile, our ambassador got consular access to meet all eight of them in prison on third of December. This is a sensitive issue, but we will continue to follow and whatever we can share, we will do so,” Bagchi said.
On the sidelines of the #COP28 Summit in Dubai yesterday, had the opportunity to meet HH Sheikh @TamimBinHamad, the Amir of Qatar. We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar. pic.twitter.com/66a2Zxb6gP
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 2, 2023
The Indian nationals, all employees of a Doha-based company, were taken into custody in August 2022. As The Indian Express reported earlier, while Qatari authorities are yet to make the charges against the prisoners public, a report in the Financial Times said that the eight Indians had been charged with spying for Israel.
The arrested Indians were identified as Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh – all ex-Indian Navy, employed by Dahra Global.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier met with the families of the prisoners and assured them that the government attached “the highest importance” to the case. On their part, the families have submitted a mercy plea to the Emir of Qatar.
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