KUWAIT CITY, Jan 30: The Court of Appeals presided over by Justice Anwar Al-Enezi acquitted and discharged detective officers and two businessmen of extortion and threatening a Jordanian couple who were previously involved in a money laundering case. The businessmen are said to be owners of a popular shopping mall in the country.

With this ruling, the court has overridden a previous verdict by a lower court that sentenced each defendant to four years in imprisonment with hard labor and fine of KD 500 for suspension of execution.

The first to fifth defendants were accused of planning to extort funds from the plaintiffs by threatening them with alleged drug trafficking and money laundering, in addition to deportation.

Case files indicate the defendants had verbally threatened to nail the plaintiffs through allegations of transferring drug proceeds into the bank account of the seventh defendant. The first defendant was alleged to have collaborated with the third and fourth accused to detain the couple illegally at Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police station, while the sixth defendant was charged for receiving an amount of money through documents that claimed agents to the two companies.

Counsel of the first defendant Abdul-Mohsen Al-Qattan refuted all allegations and investigations in that concern, and cited inconsistent submissions.

Meanwhile, in another case, the Criminal Court supervised by counselor Hamoud Al-Mutawa with secretary Sayed Mahdi adjourned until Feb 6 the trial of 31 Bedouns arrested in recent protests at Taima, Sulaibiya, and Ahmadi areas. The defendants have been charged for being aggressive to security operatives, resisting arrest and causing injuries to officers in the course of duty — as confirmed by Forensics and medical reports.