Qatar Death Row Case: Can Bilateral Relations with India be Salvaged?

Eight former Indian Navy officers, detained in Qatar on charges since August 30 last year, have been found guilty and sentenced to death by a Qatari "court of first instance", putting India in a precarious diplomatic situation.

The accused former Indian Navy officials are Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, and Sailor Rajesh- worked for Dahra Global, an Indian Navy company, and were all involved in the process of integrating stealth submarines into the Qatari Navy.

"Deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and is awaiting the detailed judgement," declared the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

India, Qatar- Defence and Economic Dynamics

India and Qatar have been the recipients of numerous high-level bilateral visits, and defence cooperation is a key component of their shared agenda. India is a regular participant in the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX), which takes place in Qatar every two years.

The Defence Cooperation Agreement between India and Qatar was inked during the Prime Minister's November 2008 visit to Qatar and was then extended for a further five years in November 2018.

In 2021–2022, India and Qatar had 15.03 billion dollars in bilateral trade. At the beginning of the year, the Union Minister stated that India's imports from Qatar totalled 13.19 billion dollars, while its exports to Qatar totalled 1.83 billion dollars. In a similar vein, India was among Qatar's top four export destinations and top three sources of imports in 2021.

India and Qatar have established a Start-up bridge as part of the Start-up India Flagship Initiative with a vision to rump up their investment partnership. Qatar has invested over $450 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in India.

An agreement on defence cooperation between India and Qatar was inked in 2008, providing the framework needed to fortify bilateral defence ties. In 2016, Indian Prime Minister Modi and the Emir of Qatar reached an agreement to strengthen their bilateral ties by conducting joint drills and improving training for the land, air, and naval forces.

Qatar is the fifth-largest military spender in the Middle East, with expected military spending for 2021 of USD 11.6 billion, or 1.5% of GDP. In addition, India's defence industry has advanced significantly over the past eight years, with goals to rank among the top producers of defence equipment and reach $5 billion in defence exports by 2024–2025.

Likewise, with almost 48% of India's total Liquefied natural gas (LNS) imports, Qatar is the country that supplies India with the most LNG. India imports polyethene, ammonia, urea, ethylene, and propylene from Qatar in addition to LNG.

Indian Diaspora in Qatar

The Indian diaspora in Qatar is a vibrant and essential part of the socioeconomic web that unites the two countries. The Indian population in Qatar consists of both Indian expats living there and Indian-born residents of the country. There were roughly 691,000 Indians living in the nation as of 2017. But by 2022, there should be 700,000 Indians living in Qatar, according to estimates.

The Indian Embassy in Qatar supports the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), which is the highest authority of the Indian expatriate community and works to promote social and cultural events for the Indian community in Qatar. The interests of the almost 600,000 Indian residents of Qatar are likewise served by the ICC.

Potential Measures Taken by India

In order to address the current situation with eight former Indian Naval personnel on Qatar Death Row, Sputnik India spoke with Sukant Gupta, an expert in International Law, a Senior Advocate of India, about the legal procedures that India may employ on a global scale to achieve the release and repatriation of its citizens who are held in Qatar.

“In recent years, efforts to prevent the disappearance of certain nationals abroad have resulted in several accords and governance initiatives,” Gupta said.

The Advocate emphasised that —there isn't anything in international law that protects foreign people who have been found guilty in another nation- with the exception where it is possible to guarantee that citizens receive a fair trial. However, it also relies on the nation in which the trial is being held as to whether or not it believes that specific international legal systems are authorised to generate or do things that would be considered volatile.

“International politics and relations are governed by realpolitik- although some foreign nationals was released in the past, this does not create a precedent that can be enforced legally because it depends on nation to nation. Rich countries, especially the United States, as we know and have seen, use the exact phrase, "can get away with murder,” Gupta added.

''Blood Money" or ''ICJ''?

Likewise, the advocates further underline that in certain cases, Islamic States have received payments in the form of "blood money" in exchange for the release of particular countries' citizens. However, this cannot be regarded as a precedent.

"Take the Italian Marines, for example, who went to arbitration after being charged with crimes in India. In my professional experience, I have never heard of a criminal case proceeding to arbitration. And this is unprecedented, how can a criminal case or a case in which some individuals are charged with serious crimes like murder appeal at the arbitrary tribunal? It must be tried in accordance with criminal law principles. So International Law is all about the rules of convenience,” Gupta noted.

“The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was consulted in the Jadhav Case because India contended that Jadhav had been unfairly abducted, unlawfully held, wrongly accused, and mistreated while incarcerated. But in this situation, there isn't a case built up. India hasn't issued a statement claiming that the trial isn't fair or that the personnel are being held unlawfully”, the pundit said.

Diplomacy: Is it the Key?

The Advocate mentions that as far as we are aware, no charges have been filed; but, if the espionage against Israel is genuine, the death sentence would not be waived because there would be no victim. India may file an appeal, and Qatari law permits two appeals. A further choice is for India to request clemency in the form of a mercy petition, which might lead to the death penalty being replaced with life in prison.

Meanwhile, the advocate also confirmed that another possibility exists: in the event that the two nations reach a consensus, the navy personnel may be sent to India to serve their prison terms. Regretfully, neither the UAE nor Qatar have ratified the Vienna Convention. With the limited options, India's only remaining choice is diplomacy, and at this stage, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has a significant role, the expert stated.

Explainers

Why Were Indian Navy Veterans Sentenced to Death in Qatar?

27 October 2023, 18:03