A Qatar court has admitted India’s appeal against the death sentence awarded to eight Indian naval veterans on charges that have not been made public though they have been in prison for over a year now.

The first hearing in the appeal was held on Thursday.

There was no official word from India or Qatar on the appeal. Sources said all they know is that the appeal has been admitted.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on November 9 that an appeal had been filed against the October 26 verdict of the Court of First Instance of Qatar, which had sentenced the eight naval veterans to death.

All eight were in the employ of the now-disbanded Al Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a defence services providing company owned by an ex-Omani Air Force officer. The company provided training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies.

Some media reports have suggested that the eight naval veterans have been arrested on the charge of spying on Qatar’s submarine project for Israel. There has been no official confirmation or denial of these news reports. The October 26 judgment has also been kept confidential and has been shared only with the legal team, Bagchi had said.