publish time

14/12/2015

author name Arab Times

publish time

14/12/2015

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: The Appeals Court, presided over by Judge Ibrahim Al-Obaid, sentenced a person suspected of membership in DAESH to 10 years in prison with hard labor and fined him $30,000 or its Kuwaiti dinar equivalent, reports Al-Rai daily. The higher court’s decision to overturn the verdict of a lower court that had earlier acquitted the accused is a confirmation that the State of Kuwait, like other countries, considers DAESH a terrorist organization and a banned group. The country has also warned its citizens against embracing the ideologies of the group or joining it.

The Public Prosecution had previously charged the suspect with committing a hostile act against Syria and Iraq without getting permission from the government as he supported a terrorist group; thereby, endangering Kuwait’s political relations with these countries.

The accused was also charged with joining a banned group and adopting extremist ideology against the country in order to demolish its basic systems by committing illegal activities. Earlier, the Court of First Instance acquitted the suspect of supporting a terrorist group and refrained from announcing penalty for the other charges. It also allowed the accused to post bail of KD500 and asked him to sign a pledge of good conduct. However, the suspect appealed the verdict as he wanted to be acquitted of all charges but the Prosecution filed a petition against the acquittal.

The Appeals Court found that the suspect deviated from the moderation principle of Islam as he adopted the ideology of DAESH which is into killing innocent people and destroying countries. The court said the suspect traveled to Syria, took part in the illegal activities of the terrorist group, and then returned to Kuwait. It has been reported that the suspect admitted all charges during investigations at the Prosecution while he collected $30,000 which he transferred to DAESH. Accordingly, the Appeals Court responded quickly to those who claimed that the activities of DAESH are not criminalized in the State of Kuwait by issuing a verdict against the accused