Kuwait sentences seven convicted inmates to death in first mass executions since 2017

On Wednesday, Kuwait executed seven people convicted of murder and other crimes for the first time since 2017 amid widespread criticism from the international community over its plans to do so. The European Commission summoned the country’s envoy to the EU in Brussels and the issue would reportedly be raised.

The seven inmates convicted of premeditated murder and other charges were four Kuwaitis (three men and one woman), a Syrian man, a Pakistani man and an Ethiopian woman. They were executed at the Gulf Arab state's Central Prison, said the state-run KUNA news agency. However, they have not specified the method used to carry out the executions.

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“They deprived the victims of their most sacred rights in this world, which is the right to life,” said Kuwait’s public prosecution in a statement. The country hasn’t carried out a mass execution since it had sentenced seven prisoners, including a ruling family member, five years ago.

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Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Amna Guellali, called for the authorities to “immediately halt these executions”. She added, “death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment”.

The European Union also immediately criticised the executions which coincided with the European Commission official Margaritis Schinas’ visit to Kuwait. In a statement, the EU called for a “halt to executions and for a complete de facto moratorium on carrying out death penalty, as a first step towards a formal and full abolition of the death penalty in Kuwait”.

It called the death penalty as a “cruel and inhumane punishment.”

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In a separate statement, Schinas said that they “will draw the consequences that this will have on the discussions on the Commission’s proposal to put Kuwait on the visa-free list.”

The European Parliament has been scheduled to vote on the proposal to waive visa requirements for Kuwait nationals and Qatar in the EU. This issue will also be discussed in the context of human rights over the next week between the EU and Kuwait, said a European commission official.

(With inputs from agencies)

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