Kuwait’s Criminal Court has sentenced three men to death and handed five-year prison terms to eight others over an alleged plot to assassinate the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, involving espionage for Iran and links to the Lebanese Hezbollah organisation, local media reported.
The three men sentenced to death were identified as Hussein Abdullah Al-Matouq, Hassan Abdulhadi Hajieh and Abdulreza Haidar Dehqani.
The verdict was delivered by the State Security Circuit of the Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Nasser Al-Badr and comprising three other judges.
The case involved charges of undermining Kuwait’s national interests, collaborating with Iran, joining Hezbollah and planning hostile acts against the state, including an alleged assassination attempt targeting the Interior Minister.
Alleged Assassination Plot
According to details reported by local media, defendants four through 10 held meetings to plan the assassination and divided responsibilities among themselves.
The 11th defendant was allegedly assigned to provide the equipment required for the operation, acting under the direction of the first three defendants.
The defendants were also accused of plotting an explosives attack intended to spread fear and create instability in Kuwait. The 11th defendant faced a separate charge of attempting to smuggle explosives into the country to facilitate the planned operation.
The court said the defendants had sought to undermine Kuwait’s security, fuel unrest and erode public confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect lives and property.
It stressed that national security was a collective right belonging to society as a whole, warning that Kuwait would not tolerate foreign interference or allow its institutions to become targets of plots organised from abroad.
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