New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday that the eight incarcerated former Indian Navy officers, whose death sentences were commuted, have a 60-day window to appeal their prison terms imposed by a Qatari court.Last month, the Court of Appeal in Qatar removed the death penalty handed down to Indians and sentenced them to prison for varying durations ranging from three to 25 years.In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had noted on December 28, 2023 the “verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced”. Stating that a detailed judgement was awaited, the MEA had then said that it was “in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps”.At the weekly briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the legal team had received the court order.He confirmed that each individual has received different sentences. “As for the next steps, there is a 60-day period during which this matter can be appealed to the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court of Qatar. Our legal team is working on this issue, and we are in discussion with the families and the legal team, we are connected with them and will see what unfolds next,” he said.On October 26, the veterans, detained for more than a year, were sentenced to death by Qatar’s Court of First Instance. Hired by the now-defunct Omani private company Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, they were contracted to provide training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces. Although the charges have not been publicly disclosed, media reports have suggested that they had been charged with espionage.India and Qatar had signed an agreement for transfer of sentenced persons in 2015. After their punishment was reduced from the death penalty, the eight men would have been eligible to be transferred to India to serve the rest of their terms.However, the MEA spokesperson had indicated last week that the agreement was not in force as Qatar had likely not ratified it.