The Tamil Nadu Government on Wednesday announced that it would extend financial assistance of Rs 9.5 lakh towards legal expenses for three persons from Tamil Nadu, who were convicted in a murder case and sentenced to death by a court in Qatar.

After consulting the lawyers in Qatar, the Government has ordered immediate payment of Rs 9,50,000 for meeting the legal expenses, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said. The money would be used by the lawyers for appealing in the apex court of Qatar on behalf of the three.

The trio – Azhagappa Subramani, Chelladurai Perumal and Sivakumar Arasan – were charged with the murder of a elderly woman there.

In 2015, a local court found all the three guilty and sentenced them to death. On an appeal, the Qatar High Court upheld the death sentence to Subramani and Perumal while sentencing Arasan to life imprisonment.