Kuwait seeks death for terror suspects
Kuwait’s public prosecutor has called for the death penalty for 34 of 37 suspected al-Qaida-linked militants accused of a role in deadly clashes with police in January.
The request for the death sentences against the suspects, one of whom is a woman, was made in the charge sheet at the trial, which opened in May and resumed on Saturday amid tight security.
Most of the suspects are accused of involvement in four gun battles with Kuwaiti security forces in January that left four police officers dead and 10 others wounded.
Among the charges are joining an illegal extremist group, carrying out terrorist acts, participating in the killing of several police officers, and plotting to attack US forces and citizens in the oil-rich Gulf emirate.
Twenty-two of the suspects, who were present in the court’s metal cage, denied the charges against them. Several claimed they were tortured during detention and that their confessions were extracted by force.
Defence lawyers demanded that the suspects be examined after the allegations of torture.