The Info Underground

8 ex-India navy officers accused of spying on Qatar for Israel
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230420-8-ex-india-navy-officers-accused-of-spying-on-qatar-for-israel/

Eight former Indian naval personnel are currently facing trial in Qatar on charges of espionage. They are accused of gathering intelligence on Qatar's secret project to acquire high-tech submarines manufactured in Italy, which are designed to be difficult to detect by adversaries.

According to the Print, legal proceedings against the officers began on 29 March, with the next hearing scheduled for May.

The eight were working for a company called Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, which was described as a "local business partner" of Qatar's defence and other agencies. They were arrested back in August 2022, although no official charges were brought at the time, it was widely suspected that they were spying on behalf of Israel.

An intelligence source was quoted by the Print as saying: "We've tried hard to convince our counterparts in Doha that India and its nationals were not involved in hostile intelligence operations against the emirate."

"But the Qataris are insisting that intelligence on their submarine programme was passed on to Israel."

The source added that Qatar State Security, the state intelligence agency, allegedly intercepted electronic communications implicating the naval officers in leaking sensitive information on the submarine programme. The purported evidence, he insisted, has not been shared with India.

In December, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that it had secured consular access to the defendants and last month stated that it "attaches high priority to the matter and remains engaged with the Qatari authorities regarding the case".

In 2020, the Trieste-based shipbuilding firm, Fincantieri SpA signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar for the production of submarines. The contract included the construction of four corvettes, one amphibious vessel and two patrol vessels, in addition to support services in Qatar.

Significantly, it included the "supply of cutting-edge naval vessels and submarines." In doing so, Qatar will become the first Arab Gulf state to operate submarines, which has been described as a potential game-changer in the region. Currently, Iran is the only submarine operator in the Gulf, however two of Qatar's neighbours – Saudi Arabia and UAE have expressed interest in acquiring submarines.

QATARI COURT SENTENCES 8 INDIAN CITIZENS TO DEATH ..........FOR SPYING FOR ISRAEL
https://nwobroadcastcorp.wordpress.com/2023/10/30/qatari-court-sentences-8-indian-citizens-to-death-for-spying-for-israel/

Other then Jews spying for Israel this type of spying is rare , as most spies caught spying are doing so for their country of origin which also happens to be the country they are citizens of .

In this case Country A (Qatar) has sentenced 8 citizens of country B (India) to death for spying on behalf of Country C (Israel)

The former Indian Navy personnel who are currently undergoing a trial in Qatar have been charged with the offense of spying for Israel on the country's advanced submarines. These submarines are reportedly covered with metamaterials that enhance their stealth capabilities and make them harder to detect.

The Qatari Navy had, in 2021, signed a deal with an Italian shipyard, Fincantieri SpA, for constructing two diesel-electric submarines.The Qatar State Security, the state intelligence agency, claimed to have intercepted electronic communications establishing that the naval officers were spying on this submarine program.Reportedly, they are accused of transferring confidential data on metamaterials used to enhance the submarines' stealth capabilities.

The eight Indian navals worked at Qatar's Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services. A privately owned company which offers training to the defence and security organisations of Qatar.As per media reports, Dahra Global Technologies and Consulting Services is an organisation advising on a Qatari program pointed toward getting high-tech Italian-made submarines that could evade radar recognition.

The organisation was closed down in May 2023, Al Jazeera reports. The organisation had utilised as many as 75 Indian nationals, the majority of them were former Naval force staff.

Incidentally, the Indian defence attaché in Qatar, a naval officer, had returned to India earlier this year, before the completion of his tenure.

The eight Indian citizens ,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 are all former personnel of the Indian Navy

Purnendu Tiwari, who was managing director of Dahra Global,received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for his services in furthering the bilateral relationship between India and Qatar.

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The sentences came at a sensitive time amid the Israel-Hamas war, as Qatar has been playing a key intermediary role in negotiating the release of several Israeli hostages held in Gaza by the Palestinian terror group, as well as the entrance of some humanitarian aid for Gaza's civilian population.

Basically Qatar is Israels hidden quite ally ..........which doesnt nessecarily mean Israel wont spy on Qatar......... after all its biggest and most expansve spy networks are in America its "claosest ally"

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Theres good news for the families of the eight though

Qatar rarely carries out the death penalty. The last execution in the Gulf state was in 2020 and before that in 2003, said the person briefed on the case.

Qatar is one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, and India has been in talks to secure a new long-term LNG contract with Doha. India was the world's fourth-largest LNG importer in 2021, with more than 40 per cent of stocks shipped from Qatar, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A Qatari trade official was quoted in the local press as saying in July that India was the gas-rich Gulf state's second-largest trade partner. The official added that trade volume between the two countries had increased by about a third in 2021 and 2022 to reach $17.2bn.

The odds are the eight are going to be used as pawns in an elaborate Geo-statergic /commercial /political chess game India's Central elections are up next year and Modi the spin meister extraordinaire cannot be expected to let go of such a PR opportunity of"rescuing doomed Indian sailors"