KUWAIT CITY, Dec 2: Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has issued a detailed reminder of the strict penalties under national law for narcotics and psychotropic substance offenses, outlining circumstances that may lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The ministry noted that capital punishment may be imposed for repeat offenses, involving minors or individuals with mental illness in drug crimes, or committing such acts inside prisons, police stations, rehabilitation and addiction-treatment centers, places of worship, schools, or sports clubs. It also applies to offenders who abuse their official authority or supply minors with prohibited substances.

Life imprisonment may be handed down to individuals who join organized criminal groups engaged in narcotics activities, or those who plant drugs on another person to frame them, especially if it results in a final imprisonment ruling. The penalty also extends to forcibly administering or compelling someone to consume narcotic or psychotropic substances without their knowledge, leading to addiction, serious harm, or permanent disability.

The ministry added that capital punishment is also applicable to those who create or lead criminal groups involved in drug activity, force another person to consume or be injected with such substances resulting in death, or plant drugs on someone in a way that leads to a wrongful death sentence being executed.

The Ministry of Interior affirmed that these measures reflect Kuwait’s firm stance against drug trafficking and its commitment to safeguarding public safety.