Qatar shocked India with its recent verdict against the eight former Indian Navy officers. The eight former naval personnel were sentenced to death by the Court of First Instance of Qatar. Reacting to the 2023 Qatar espionage case, Indian Navy Chief said, “Govt putting all-out efforts to bring them back”. India called the ruling `deeply shocking` and deployed all diplomatic channels to engage with Qatar on this case. In November, a court of appeal in Qatar accepted the Indian Govt’s application against the death sentence. The 8 former Indian Navy personnel were arrested in August 2022 for alleged espionage in Qatar. They were employees of Dahra Global, a Doha-based private defence services provider.