KUWAIT CITY, June 23: The Criminal Court has acquitted three GCC citizens of charges of kidnapping and raping a minor.
Case papers indicate that the girl while attending a wedding party with her father and grandmother called her boyfriend to come to the party with the gift he had promised her. She said her friend came with another friend and they asked her to enter the vehicle to avoid being spotted by people. They later roamed around the area for some time during which her boyfriend started caressing her against her will and beat her when she refused to play along. She said the boy fondled her body and later they dropped her on the road. She then called another friend to come to her rescue and when they reached her home, police arrested them because her parents filed a kidnap case by then.
The third suspect’s lawyer Tuhani Al-Zoufairi said his client tried to help the girl but was rewarded with an accusation.
He said there was no proof of kidnap or rape and asked the court to discharge his client.

Freed in theft: The Criminal Court acquitted a citizen of stealing KD 2,000 from an unidentified man.
Case files indicate the alleged victim was on his way to a car sales shop when a Jeep blocked his way but he was able to pass through.  He then told the driver of the Jeep, “You blocked the road for a woman.”  After that, the suspect asked the victim to stop and the latter did so, but to his surprise two men got out of the Jeep with weapons and they provoked him into a fistfight.  He told them he has a heart problem, so he cannot fight.  They then searched him, took his money by force and fled from the scene.
Attorney Hamad Al-Hadyan, who represented the Kuwaiti in court, raised doubts on the victim’s statement.  He asked the court to acquit his client due to lack of incriminating evidence.
The session was presided over by Judge Hesham Al-Abdullah.

15 years for drugs: The Criminal Court sentenced a Kuwaiti to 15 years in jail and fined him KD 10,000 for drug smuggling, but the other suspect was acquitted.
Case files indicate the Kuwaiti was arrested after a team of anti-narcotics officers put him under surveillance. The officers acted on information that the suspect was smuggling drugs from Iran. During the operation, the officers found 40 rolls of hashish, 700 grams of opium and 300 kilograms of hashish in his boat. 
When the officers interrogated the Kuwaiti, he said he smuggles drugs on behalf of an inmate at the Central Prison.
Attorney Bashar Al-Nassar, who represented the inmate in court, demanded acquittal of his client, considering he was in jail when the Kuwaiti was caught in the act of smuggling drugs into the country. He also pointed out there is no proof that his client contacted the Kuwaiti prior to the latter’s arrest.
The session was presided over Judge Emad Al-Mandeel.