Kuwait’s Criminal Court has given death sentences to six men, members of the ‘Peninsula Lions Organization’, reports Arab News. The six were among 37 Islamists who were on trial for being members of a group believed to be linked to Al-Qa’ida in Iraq. They included 25 Kuwaitis, seven Bedouins, two Jordanians, a Saudi, an Australian and a Somali.
Other group members were sentenced to varying prison terms, except for one woman, who signed a pledge of good conduct, and seven men who were acquitted.
“They have committed a great crime; horrified people, murdered security men and caused panic among citizens and residents in the country,” read the verdict in regard to those sentenced to death. As for those acquitted, the court explained they had “no real role in the case.”
“The case papers, however, did not include any evidence to prove this charge,” the court admitted. “There was no supporting evidence to prove the charges against all those acquitted as the prosecution charges were in these cases based only on the testimony of the arresting officer, which cannot be fully trusted,” it concluded.
Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for about 20 suspects for four shootouts in January in which nine Islamists and four security personnel were killed. Ten police officers were also wounded. While police have said some of the suspects had confessed to planning suicide attacks against the U.S. military and Western targets in Kuwait, several militants denied the charges saying the confessions were “extracted under duress.”