Marines have 9 days to escape death sentence

On October 30, the families of the eight former marines met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The families of the sailors got the opportunity to meet the Foreign Minister and present their views only after the death sentence was announced. Before this the family members had not received any response. The families of the sailors had also approached senior BJP officials. Still nothing could be accomplished.

Through 5 questions in the story, we will know how the government failed to save its former marines in Qatar in the last 14 months, which backdoor channels India can use in the future, how effective they are...

Question 1: What was discussed in the meeting with the Foreign Minister?
Answer: In the meeting, Jaishankar assured that the Indian government is making every possible effort to bring back the marines safely. According to sources, this meeting lasted for about one and a half hours. About 20 members of all the families, apart from Foreign Minister Jaishankar, Minister of State for External Affairs, Foreign Secretary and India's Ambassador to Qatar were also present.

The wives and female members of the Indian Navy cried in front of the External Affairs Minister. Some family members are also said to be angry with the government's stance on the entire matter. He believes that the sailors who are the honor of the country have been imprisoned in foreign jails for 14 months. They are being subjected to physical and mental torture.

According to officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India is expected to get positive results regarding the entire matter in a month. However, sources who spoke to Bhaskar said that the government has not given any information regarding how it will deal with this challenge.

Question 2: Which channels is the government using to save soldiers from death?
Answer: According to sources, India is taking Turkey's help to convince Qatar. Turkiye has good relations with the royal family of Qatar, so the government has approached him for mediation. The Indian government has also talked to America for help. The reason for this is that America has a stronger strategic hold on Qatar.

At the same time, it is also believed that if the diplomacy of the Ministry of External Affairs fails, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi will use his personal relations with Qatar's King Tamim bin Hamad-Al Thani to talk to him.

The Indian government has roped in former Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal to handle the matter. When the eight former marines were arrested, Deepak was posted in Qatar. However, the family members of the former marines have accused Mittal of not handling the case properly.

Question 3: How has the government failed to save ex-marines in the last 14 months?
Answer: Sources said that the Ministry of External Affairs is failing to take prompt action on this 14-month-old issue that started in August last year. Family members of ex-servicemen and marines said after the meeting that ministry officials have refused to talk to the media on the issue. Officials say that media coverage may affect the case.

The government informed about the arrest of Indian marines in Qatar in August last year when the media raised the issue. Till then the Ministry of External Affairs had maintained silence on this matter.

Retired Major General Satbir Singh told Bhaskar that his organization Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement had written 9 letters to the PMO from November 2022 to March 2023 to release 8 soldiers. He said- As soon as we got information about the arrest from the family members, we started approaching the government. The government responded for the first time on 5 April.

Major General Satbir Singh said that not much pressure was put on Qatar for the release of the soldiers. The government is saying that it is taking action to save the soldiers, but if it had done so then there would have been no visible results, they would not have been sentenced to death.

According to sources, the lawyers and family members of these Indian citizens have not yet received the court order of October 26.

According to Brahma Chellaney, who has been a member of the National Security Advisory Board in India, Indian diplomacy failed to cover up the case against the former marines. Qatar's Court of Appeal can now be approached against the behind-the-scenes trial and subsequent death sentence. After this he can knock on the doors of the Supreme Court of Qatar.

According to Chellani, since the matter is political, everything is in the hands of the Emir of Qatar, i.e. the biggest authority there, Al Thani. He pardons people from death sentences every year on the occasion of Eid and Qatar's National Day, which falls on December 18.

Chellani has said that if the sailors are given death sentence then the relations between Qatar and India will be spoiled forever.

Question 4: Had the family members ever gone to Qatar before and met these marines?
Answer: Yes, the families of the eight former marines have gone to Qatar and talked to them. For this everyone was taken to a safehouse. Their meeting lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. Before the meeting it was made clear that his talks would be recorded. Some relatives of the sailors are still in Qatar.

Question 5: Marines were allowed to talk to their families for 5 minutes every Sunday. What did he tell during this time?
Answer: The family told that he can speak only in English. Could talk only on selected issues. During this time, the sailors would ask the family members when they would be released. He knows the well-being of his children and the rest of his family.