Kuwait Sentences an Iranian Citizen to Death in Absentia

On Tuesday, January 22, Kuwait sentenced two individuals, including an Iranian citizen named "Abdolreza Heydar," to death in absentia for "espionage for the Islamic Republic" and "planning an attack in Kuwait." According to AFP, Heydar is accused of spying for Iran along with a group of Shia Kuwaitis and of hiding "large amounts of weapons and ammunition underground." The Kuwaiti court also sentenced another individual to life imprisonment and 19 others to prison terms ranging from five to fifteen years. In connection with this case, three other individuals were acquitted, and one was fined. The group has also been accused of spying for Hezbollah, which is supported by the Islamic Republic, and of smuggling explosives, weapons, and ammunition into Kuwait. Kuwaiti officials had previously reported in September that they had discovered and dismantled a group "linked to Iran" and seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition from them. However, all 23 accused individuals denied the charges in court, claiming that Kuwaiti officers had extracted confessions from them under torture. They stated that they were beaten, subjected to electric shocks during interrogations, and threatened with death if they did not sign confessions. The Iranian embassy in Kuwait had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the mention of the Islamic Republic in the arms and ammunition discovery case, emphasizing that it had no information about the identity of the individual identified as an Iranian citizen in this case and deemed the claims as a "continuation of negative media propaganda" against relations between the two countries. The new court ruling comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab countries, particularly following the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran. In this context, the trial of four Iranians on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in Saudi Arabia is also ongoing. The Iranian ambassador in Kuwait stated that the level of relations between the two sides has not changed, while Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Iran.