Kuwait conducted a series of executions, putting five individuals to death, including a man involved in a deadly Islamic State group bombing in 2015. The executions, a relatively rare occurrence in the Gulf emirate, mark the first since November of the previous year when seven people were executed after a five-year moratorium on the death penalty.
The Public Prosecution of Kuwait confirmed the execution of five individuals, most of whom were convicted of murder. Among them was Abdulrahman Sabah Saud, the main culprit behind the 2015 bombing that targeted a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, resulting in the loss of 26 innocent lives. The attack remains the deadliest in the history of Kuwait.
Abdulrahman Sabah Saud, an Arab without a state nationality, was found guilty of driving the suicide bomber to the mosque and delivering the explosives belt used in the attack from an area near the Saudi border. During the initial trial, Saud pleaded guilty to most of the charges against him. However, during subsequent appeals at the supreme courts, he denied all accusations.
The other individuals executed included a Kuwaiti citizen, an Egyptian, and a member of Kuwait’s stateless Bidoon minority, all of whom were convicted of murder. Additionally, a Sri Lankan national was executed on drug charges.
In the case related to the mosque bombing, Kuwait initially charged 29 defendants, including seven women, with assisting the Saudi mosque bomber. Subsequently, in 2016, the court upheld sentences ranging from two to 15 years for eight individuals, including four women, and acquitted more than a dozen others. Among the convicted was Fahad Farraj Muhareb, an alleged IS leader in Kuwait, whose death sentence was commuted to 15 years in prison.
While Kuwait has utilized the death penalty since the mid-1960s, executions have been relatively rare. Most death row inmates in Kuwait have been convicted of murder or drug trafficking offenses. Throughout its history, Kuwait has executed dozens of individuals, including three men in 2013 for murder and two Egyptians in the same year for kidnap and murder.
Comparatively, capital punishment is more prevalent in neighboring countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the latter executing 74 people in the current year alone, as per an AFP tally. Disturbingly, at least 64 people are presently on death row in Saudi Arabia, including nine who were minors at the time of their charges, according to the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights.
Critics have expressed concerns over Saudi Arabia’s continued use of capital punishment, particularly in the context of the country’s efforts to present a more progressive and reform-oriented image through initiatives like “Vision 2030,” aimed at social and economic transformation.
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In conclusion, Kuwait’s recent executions, including that of the 2015 mosque bombing convict, have drawn attention to the issue of capital punishment in the region. As debates on the morality and effectiveness of the death penalty persist, the case sheds light on the broader human rights concerns in the Middle East, where capital punishment remains a contentious issue.
