QATAR: DEATH SENTENCE FOR TWO INDIANS IN WOMAN'S MURDER CASE UPHELD

A Doha appeals court has upheld the death sentence given to two Indian men by the trial court for the murder of an elderly Qatari woman at her home in 2012. The third defendant, also an Indian, has been given a life sentence. The verdict in the murder case was delivered on May 30 by the Court of Appeal but the issue came to light only when Suresh Kumar, a lawyer from India, who was deputed by the South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF) arrived in Doha a couple of days ago to follow up the case. Kumar had also met Indian embassy officials in this regard. 
The trio, who were found guilty of the murder, were identified as Alagappa Subramaniam, Chinnadurai Perumal and Sivakumar Arasan, all reported to be in their early 40s and natives of Villupuram, Virudhunagar and Salem, respectively, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 
At least one of the three was working at the home where the murder took place, a source told this newspaper.
The crime was committed towards the end of 2012 and two of the accused were awarded capital punishment by a local court on December 31, 2014. The trial court had sentenced the third accused to life in prison. In May this year, the Court of Appeals upheld the verdict.