Death Penalty and Imprisonment for 11 Defendants in Attempted Assassination of Al-Yousef

- State Security Crimes Court: The defendants attempted to undermine the country’s security and incite unrest in society.

- The state’s sovereignty does not tolerate foreign will or orders issued from outside its borders interfering with its authority.

- The Public Prosecution: They sought to carry out hostile acts against Kuwait following the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader.

- They met, planned, divided roles, and began procuring explosives.

The State Security Crimes and Terrorism Court, presided over by Advisor Nasser Al-Bader and with the participation of Advisors Omar Al-Mulifi, Abdullah Al-Fahad, and Salem Al-Zaid, sentenced three defendants to death for their attempt to assassinate the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef. It sentenced eight other defendants to five years in prison for criminal complicity in the crime.

In its reasoning, the court affirmed that the defendants attempted to undermine national security, incite societal unrest, and erode public confidence in the authorities’ ability to safeguard security and protect lives and property. It emphasized that “the security of the homeland is not a concern for an individual or a specific group, but a right for society as a whole, and that the state’s sovereignty does not tolerate foreign will interfering with its authority, nor orders imposed on its territory issued from outside its borders, nor its institutions and symbols of authority becoming targets for plans directed by foreign entities.”

The Public Prosecution’s indictment stated that the 11 defendants comprised nine Kuwaitis, one Iranian, and one non-Kuwaiti, with three of them residing abroad. It noted that three of the defendants had previously received final felony convictions in state security cases in 2015 and 2017.

It added that they sought to coordinate with a foreign state (the Islamic Republic of Iran) and communicated with it and with entities acting in its interest (the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization) “to carry out hostile acts against the State of Kuwait in the wake of the killing of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” They resolved to execute the criminal activity in question—the assassination of the First Deputy Prime Minister—under the direction of the first, second, and third defendants, who instructed the other defendants.

The report stated that they “joined and participated in a banned group (the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization), fully aware of its objectives, which include undermining the fundamental systems of the country through illegal means and violently overthrowing the existing social and economic order,” as detailed in the investigations.

It further added that they agreed to commit the crime by resolving to assassinate the First Deputy Prime Minister and making preparations in a manner that left no expectation of them abandoning their agreement. “Specifically, the fourth through tenth defendants met to plan how to execute the agreed-upon crime and divided roles among themselves, while the eleventh defendant was to supply the necessary equipment to carry out this criminal activity, under the direction of the first, second, and third defendants.”

The report noted that the defendants “engaged in activities likely to harm the national interests of the country” and “began using explosives with the intent to carry out the assassination operation (...) and to spread panic in the State of Kuwait.” One of them “began procuring explosives” to enable the other defendants to commit the crime charged against them.