Qatar’s court initially sentenced eight Indians to death on charges of espionage. Subsequently, the court accepted India’s appeal against the sentence. It is important to note, however, that the assertion of the sentence being waived is wrong.
New Delhi, Vishvas News – A post is gaining traction on social media concerning eight Indians who were sentenced to death in Qatar. The claim suggests that Qatar has decided to revoke the death sentences imposed on these individuals. Upon investigation, Vishvas News discovered that the Qatar Court has indeed acknowledged India’s appeal against the punishment meted out to the eight former naval personnel. However, it is important to clarify that the assertion of the sentences being waived is wrong.
A user sent this claim to Vishvas News tipline number +91 9599299372 and requested to know its truth.
Facebook user ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ posted PM Modi’s picture on November 30 and wrote, “The world bends… Need someone to bend. Breaking News. It is very good to live when India is ruled by Modiji. Qatar announced to cancel the death sentence of 8 people: Said that India’s friendship is more important…!!! @MODI-2024 BRAKING NEWS. Great to Live when ModiJi’s Rule prevails in India. Qatar announces cancellation of death sentence of 8 people : adds that India’s friendship is more important…!!! @MODI-2024. Modi can bring you back alive and safe from anywhere. After pulling out 41 labourers alive from the tunnel, 8 Indians who were sentenced to death will also return from Qatar.”
To conduct an investigation, we utilised Google with specific keywords but were unable to locate any media reports substantiating the viral claim. An article published on the NDTV website on November 24 states that the Qatari court has accepted India’s appeal against the death sentence handed to eight former Indian Navy personnel, who were convicted last month in an alleged espionage case.
The reports indicate that the individuals were arrested by Qatar’s intelligence agency in August 2022 on charges of espionage, and the Qatari court delivered a verdict against them last month. Indian authorities are actively working towards securing their release. The arrested individuals include Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, and Sailor Ragesh Gopkumar, all of whom have served in the Indian Navy for up to 20 years.
A video news report published on Wion on November 30 mentions that the appeal in the ongoing case of the eight former Indian marines in Qatar will be heard today. However, none of these sources provides information regarding the remission of their sentences.
Subsequently, we examined the Twitter handle of External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, but no information supporting the viral claim was found. Similarly, the Twitter handle of Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar did not contain any information confirming the viral claim.
In response to the situation, JP Ranjan, an international affairs correspondent at Dainik Jagran, clarified, “The Qatar court has only approved the appeal against the sentence; the punishment has not been canceled yet. The viral claim on social media is false.”
We further investigated the Facebook profile of the user who made false claims about the eight Indians sentenced to death in Qatar. This page, created on September 27, 2013, has approximately 33,000 followers.
Conclusion: Qatar’s court initially sentenced eight Indians to death on charges of espionage. Subsequently, the court accepted India’s appeal against the sentence. It is important to note, however, that the assertion of the sentence being waived is wrong.
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