The Qatar Court on Thursday announced death sentence for eight Indian Navy personnel who had been arrested in August last year on charges of spying on a submarine program on behalf of Israel. The verdict has been termed ‘deeply’ shocking by the Indian government.

The Indian nationals, all employees of , were taken into custody in August last year in an alleged case of espionage. The charges against the Indian nationals were not made public by Qatari authorities.

India’s ambassador to Qatar met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.

The chief executive of Dahra Global traveled to Doha to try and get his officials released. But the newspaper says that he also found himself in solitary confinement for two months, before being released on bail.