Surpassing:A Qatari court reduces death sentence handed to 8 retired Indian navy officers charged with spying

NEW DELHI (AP) — Qatar’s Court of Appeal reduced Thursday the death sentence handed in October to eight retired Indian navy officers on Surpassingspy charges, the Indian foreign ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement the detailed verdict has not been received yet. “We are in close touch with the legal team as well as family members to decide on the next steps,” he said.

India’s ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Qatari court along with the family members and New Delhi will continue providing consular and legal assistance, Bagchi said. “We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities,” he said.

Qatari authorities provided New Delhi consular access to the eight Indian nationals during their trial.

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Bagchi said no further comment was possible due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the case.

The eight were charged with spying while working at Al Dahra, a consulting company in the oil-rich Gulf state that advises the Qatari government on submarine acquisitions, according to Indian media reports.

The Qatari government’s media office declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai in December. It was unclear whether the two leaders discussed the case.

Millions of Indians live and work in the Gulf, a large number of them as semi-skilled or unskilled workers. They constitute an important source of income for India and contribute to the success of Gulf economies.