DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A post that alleges that Qatar has quashed the death sentence of eight Indian citizens is going viral on social media. The viral post claims that Qatar has taken this stand in order to maintain its friendship with India. The viral posts read,
Qatar announces cancellation of death sentence of 8 people : adds that India’s friendship is more important.
Qatar announces cancellation of death sentence of 8 people : adds that India's friendship is more important.#India
— Rajiv Mehta (@rajivmehta19) November 30, 2023
The same post has been shared with similar claims here, here, and here. Digiteye India received a request to fact check this claim on WhatsApp.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team conducted a keyword search on Google to find out the existence and the details of this case. One of the results led us to an article that was published by The Indian Express on November 30, 2023. The article headlined, “Qatar court accepts appeal against death penalty to 8 Indians” talks about an ongoing case against eight Indian citizens in Qatar.
According to multiple reports, eight Indians have been charged with spying for Israel. These people who were working for Doha-based Dahra Global were allegedly taken into custody for a case of spying. 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.
Another report by The Wire that was published on December 3, 2023 states that Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Emir of Qatar at the COP summit. However, there is no information about the matter.
As per the latest reports, the next hearing is on December 7.
The next hearing has been scheduled for 7 December. Indian officials, meanwhile, will be meeting the eight Indians soon. https://t.co/sNRSn86iFG
— Abhinandan Mishra (@mishra_abhi) December 2, 2023
During a recent media interaction, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said, “The ex-naval officers in Qatar are veterans… And we are interested in ensuring that their welfare is taken care of. I want to reassure you that the Indian government is putting all-out efforts to ensure that they are brought back.”
The claim is, hence, false.
CLAIM: Viral social media posts claim that Qatar has cancelled the death sentence of eight Indians who were allegedly taken into custody. The posts allege that Qatar has taken this stand to maintain its friendship with India.
CONCLUSION: There is no information about the cancellation of their death sentence as of now. The next hearing is scheduled for December 7. PM Modi met the ruler of Qatar at the COP summit and there is no credible source of information that reveals if the prime minister raised this issue with the ruler.
RATING: ??? – Misinterpretation
