A Court of Appeal in Qatar has reduced the death sentences of eight Indian Navy veterans who were on death row, a statement from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
The Indian statement said that a detailed judgement on Thursday's hearing was still awaited.
"Our Ambassador to Qatar and other officials were present in the Court of Appeal today, along with the family members. We have stood by them since the beginning of the matter and we will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also continue to take up the matter with the Qatari authorities," the MEA stated.
The eight Indian Navy veterans, who were previously employees of now-closed Al-Dahra company, were sentenced to death by Qatar’s ‘Court of First Instance' in October after being held in custody for over a year on charges not yet made public.
They were arrested by the Qatar's top intelligence agency State Security Bureau last August.
New Delhi has said that it has been extending all legal and consular assistance to the Indian citizens and been making all possible efforts to repatriate them.
The Indian citizens filed an appeal against their death verdicts last month.
Last week, MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi informed a regular media briefing that the appellate court had held three hearings in the matter till then. The fourth hearing was held on Thursday.
Bagchi also disclosed that the Indian envoy in Doha managed to get consular access to the Indian nationals this month.