Reports from India indicate that "eight former Indian naval officers, detained in Qatar last year, will soon go on trial for espionage on behalf of Israel." According to Indian media, the detainees are accused of attempting to gather intelligence on a secret project for a Qatari submarine being manufactured in Italy, which is believed to be difficult for enemies to detect. Legal proceedings against the accused began on March 29, following their arrest in August 2022. It is reported that the eight officers worked for a consultancy firm affiliated with the Qatari Ministry of Defense.
An intelligence source in India noted that "New Delhi tried to convince Doha that its nationals were not involved in any hostile espionage activities against the emirate, but these efforts were unsuccessful," adding that "the Qataris insist that intelligence concerning their submarine program was transmitted to Israel." The source mentioned that "the Qatari intelligence agency reported intercepting electronic communications in which the accused transferred sensitive information about the submarine program." Reports indicate that the plant producing submarines for Qatar is located in the Italian city of Bergamo, and that the vessels in question are scaled-down versions of the U212 submarines, built in collaboration between Italy and the German company ThyssenKrupp.
