KUWAIT CITY, May 4: The Court of Cassation upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals, which overturned the ruling of the First Instance Court to sentence a Lebanese and three women to three years in prison with hard labor for involvement in prostitution, reports Al-Seyassah daily. Initially, the court decided not to prosecute the defendants for facilitating encounters of certain women with men seeking illicit pleasure.

According to the Public Prosecution, the Lebanese established and operated a prostitution den by organizing the entry of men into an apartment, where they selected women, made their payment and were provided condoms. The prosecution stated that the Lebanese profited from the other three defendants by enticing them into prostitution and collecting their ‘earnings’ with their consent, as proven by investigations. The other three defendants were charged with aiding the Lebanese in managing the prostitution den. Their ‘tasks’ included arranging the entry for men whenever the Lebanese is absent, allowing the men to choose women, receiving payment and providing condoms. The men also engaged in sexual intercourse with the women, all above 21 years old and married. The prosecution stated that two of the defendants are married women who willingly had sexual relations with men other than their husbands.

Attorney Enaam Haider, who represented the Lebanese in court, argued that the appealed ruling violated the law and contained flaws in its application and interpretation. She explained this argument is based on the premise that the prosecution’s authorization was invalid due to frivolous investigations, which concealed essential facts. “Consequently, any evidence derived from this authorization was also invalid,” she asserted. Haider contended that the authorization was issued to apprehend individuals accused of committing a non-existent crime. She pointed out that the appealed ruling was described as violating the law; flawed in its application, interpretation and reasoning; and arbitrary in its conclusions due to the lack of incriminating evidence. In conclusion, Haider stressed that the appealed ruling was flawed in its reasoning and contradicted the evidence stated in the documents; taking into consideration the absence of conclusive evidence establishing the alleged crimes and the impossibility of legally construing the incident as criminal, hence, the accusation is baseless