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Kuwait upholds death sentence for Iran spy cell ‘mastermind’

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Kuwaiti protesters hold placards against Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah (portrait) during a protest in front the Lebanese embassy against Hezbollah's and Iran's involvement in Syria, in Kuwait city on June 11,2013. (AFP)
Kuwaiti protesters hold placards against Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah (portrait) during a protest in front the Lebanese embassy against Hezbollah’s and Iran’s involvement in Syria, in Kuwait city on June 11,2013. (AFP)

Kuwait’s court of appeals on Thursday upheld the death sentence for a Shiite citizen convicted of forming a pro-Iran cell and plotting attacks in the Gulf state.

Hasan Abdulhadi Ali has been a member of Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia since 1996 and is “the mastermind of the cell” of 26 members who had been accused of plotting attacks, the court said.

An Iranian had also been sentenced to death by a lower court but the appeals court did not look into his case on Thursday as he is on the run and must be present for the verdict to be announced.

The case of two Kuwaiti fugitives given jail terms by the lower court was also set aside until they appear in court, in line with Kuwaiti law.

The appeals court however confirmed a life term against another member of the cell while five others were sentenced to between two and five years in jail.

Five others were fined 5,000 dinars ($16,600 each) while the rest were all acquitted.

Members of the cell had been charged with spying for Iran and hiding large quantities of arms and ammunition in underground depots, including highly explosive materials.

In January, the lower court said that the Iranian cell member had recruited the Kuwaiti Shiites and arranged for their travel to Lebanon, where they received military training from Iran-backed Hezbollah.

It said that Ali had reached out to an Iranian diplomat at Tehran’s embassy in Kuwait City and later travelled to Iran, where he was in contact with the elite Revolutionary Guard.

Ali arranged with the Revolutionary Guard to smuggle large quantities of arms and explosives into Kuwait, the court said.

The verdicts can still be appealed before the supreme court.

Kuwaiti authorities said in August they had dismantled an Iran-linked cell and seized large quantities of arms, explosives and ammunition.

During the trial all 23 defendants present in court denied the charges and alleged that confessions were extracted under torture.

Iran denied any links to the group. Around a third of Kuwait’s native population of 1.3 million is Shiite.

Al Arabiya

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8 responses to “Kuwait upholds death sentence for Iran spy cell ‘mastermind’”

  1. Rascal Avatar
    Rascal

    This is what Iran does, and it needs to stop. Iran will never admit to this no matter how much evidence is produced that they are clearly involved in forming terrorist groups to destabilize other countries.
    This is why nobody takes Iran serious, the lies and deception and unfriendly actions.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      And all for an El Supremo … of another kind.

      1. Rascal Avatar
        Rascal

        Listen to the arrogant and lying Iranian, then listen to the Saudi minister. Who sounds more believable?
        http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=06b_1469129736

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          I gotta agree … and those protesters look more like protesters, even in their faces, than the ‘Dark-Side’ ones with screaming faces and bullet bandoliers under the raised weapons.

    2. PatienceTew Avatar
      PatienceTew

      Iran is basically Shia … you can’t BE a Shiite without first being an accomplished liar.

      1. Rascal Avatar
        Rascal

        Iranian executions
        http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/iran/2016/07/21/%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%85-27-%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%B6%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B9.html

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          You read Al Arabiya? Wahhabi owned paper?

          All beheading in this modern world are done by Sunni, tell me where Shia have beheaded, or beheaded Christians, tell me one single story right now.
          Who are the suicide bombers, who was Sadam Hussein, who was Qadafi, who are Wahhabi of Saudi Arabia, who’s Erdogan, who was Hosni Mubarak, who was bin Ali, who are Persian Gulf puppets in Kuwait dubai Qatar Bahrain.
          Shia or Sunni?
          Your only subject is Iran – Hezbollah.

          1. Rascal Avatar
            Rascal

            Settle down Hind, It does not matter that Iran prefers to have mass amounts of people dangle by the neck in the streets instead of other methods. The method of execution is not the issue here, the vast amount is what should shock you, but maybe you are OK with Iran killing 10 times (or more) the number of people than the Sauds do? I use the link as an example of the ridiculous amount of executions Iran does, but I can find many other links if you hate the Sauds to that extent. You should be more upset over that? If Iran excels at killing it own people it is ok with you, because they were not beheaded? I don’t understand you Hind? It must be quite the task to blindly attempt to defend Iran’s actions when it is so clearly, more in the wrong. You can go back to ignoring the truth now.

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