Jaishankar meets families of 8 Indians on death row in Qatar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met the family members of eight Indian nationals who were handed down death sentence by a Qatari court.

Jaishankar conveyed to the family members that the government will make all efforts to secure the release of the Indians.

The eight former Indian Navy personnel were on Thursday handed down death sentence by Qatar's Court of First Instance.

India described the ruling as "deeply" shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case.

"Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar.Stressed that Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families," Jaishankar said on X.

"Underlined that Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard," he said.

The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.