Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1994 - Kuwait, 1 January 1994, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9f526.html [accessed 17 September 2023]
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Hundreds of political prisoners, including possible prisoners of conscience, arrested in 1991 on charges of "collaboration" with Iraqi forces during the occupation of Kuwait, remained in custody. At least 89, some of whom appeared to be prisoners of conscience, were brought before the State Security Court during the year. After unfair trials 18 of them were sentenced to death, including one in absentia, and at least 39 were given prison sentences. Over 100 people, including 13 women, some of whom appeared to be prisoners of conscience, continued to serve prison terms imposed following unfair trials in 1991 and 1992. Four Iraqi nationals were reported to have been severely tortured, resulting in one death. The fate and whereabouts of at least 62 detainees who "disappeared" from custody in 1991 remained unknown. An Iraqi national was executed in May. This was the first judicial execution in Kuwait since 1989. A second execution was carried out in December. In August the Council of Ministers issued a decree ordering the dissolution of all unlicensed organizations, including one of the country's leading human rights groups, al-Jami'a al-Kuwaitiyya lil-difa' 'an Dahaya al-Harb, the Kuwaiti Association to Defend War Victims, which has been working on behalf of Kuwaitis missing and believed to be held in Iraq since 1991 (see Iraq entry). The government decree effectively ignored a resolution adopted by the National Assembly in December 1992 calling for non-governmental groups working on behalf of the missing Kuwaitis to be legalized. The Hostages and Missing Committee, a seven-member parliamentary committee with responsibility for following up cases of Kuwaitis held in Iraq, condemned the government's decision to close down these organizations. Its members resigned in protest at the National Assembly's failure to support their efforts to have the government's decision overturned. Hundreds of political prisoners, including possible prisoners of conscience, remained held following their arrest in 1991 on suspicion of "collaboration" with Iraqi forces during the occupation of Kuwait (see Amnesty International Report 1993). During the year at least 89 of them were brought before the State Security Court, the majority on charges relating to "collaboration with the enemy". The trial proceedings fell short of international standards for fair trial: among other things, some defendants were denied access to lawyers before trial and some evidence accepted by the court was withheld from the defence. In all 18 people were sentenced to death, including one in absentia; 39 received prison terms ranging between two years and life; and 27 were acquitted. Among those convicted were Samir Ahmad Samara, a Palestinian, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Zuhair 'Umar Salah Mahmud, a Jordanian national, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Defendants were denied the full right of appeal available to defendants in ordinary criminal cases. There was no information available about the precise number of defendants still awaiting trial at the end of 1993. Eleven Iraqis and three Kuwaitis appeared before the State Security Court on 5 June, charged with involvement in an alleged Iraqi government plot to assassinate the former US President, George Bush, during his visit to Kuwait in April. The defendants were not allowed access to lawyers before the trial. The prosecution asked for the death penalty to be imposed on the 11 Iraqis and one of the Kuwaitis. Before the trial, the US Government justified an air strike on Baghdad by stating that its investigations provided compelling evidence of an Iraqi intelligence assassination plot. The verdict had not been announced by the end of the year. One hundred and two political prisoners, including 13 women, continued to serve prison terms in Kuwait Central Prison following their conviction on charges of "collaboration". Some appeared to be prisoners of conscience. Fifty-nine had been sentenced by the Martial Law Court in 1991 and the others by the State Security Court in 1992 after trials which did not satisfy international standards for fair trial (see Amnesty International Reports1992 and 1993). Four Iraqi nationals were reported to have been abducted by Kuwaiti forces on 28 August near the Iraqi town of Safwan, close to the Iraq/Kuwait border. They were alleged to have been severely tortured during interrogation before being returned to the Safwan area two days later. One of the four, Ma'add Zahir, was reported to have died as a result of the torture. The cases of seven policemen implicated in the torture of a Sri Lankan detainee in June 1992, said to have been referred to the Criminal Court, remained unresolved. The detainee, Colompurage Asoka Pathmakumara, died before reaching hospital (see Amnesty International Report 1993). The fate and whereabouts of at least 62 Palestinians, Jordanians, Iraqis and other nationals who "disappeared" in custody between February and June 1991 remained unknown at the end of the year (see Amnesty International Report 1993). Among them were 'Awatif Qasim Muhammad 'Ali al-Maliki, a young Iraqi woman who had "disappeared" at the end of February 1991, and 'Ali Daifallah, a Palestinian who had "disappeared" in May 1991 together with his son, Muhammad. 'Abd al-Rahman Hassan Khafi, an Iraqi national sentenced to death by the State Security Court in July 1992, was executed in May after his sentence was upheld by the Court of Cassation and ratified by the Amir, Shaikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah. He had been convicted of membership of the pro-Iraq Hizb al-Tahrir al-'Arabi (Arab Liberation Front) and of killing a Kuwaiti border guard. This was the first judicial execution known to have been carried out in Kuwait since 1989. Kamal Matar, a member of the bidun (stateless Arab) community, was executed in December following his conviction for murder. During the year 18 people were sentenced to death, including one in absentia, by the State Security Court. They were convicted of "collaboration" (see above) after proceedings which failed to conform to international standards for fair trial. Their sentences had not been ratified by the end of the year. They included 10 Jordanians, six Iraqis and one Kuwaiti woman, Siham Ibrahim Hussain 'Ali. A Kuwaiti man was sentenced to death by the Criminal Court in August after being convicted of rape. Another man was sentenced to death in December after being convicted of murder. In addition to requesting information about other unresolved cases, Amnesty International sought further information about the legal basis for the arrest in December 1992, and continued detention without trial, of 'Abd al-'Aziz Su'ud al-'Ali, a bidun and former member of the Kuwaiti armed forces. Amnesty International continued throughout the year to press for the fair trial or release of all political prisoners, for steps to be taken to clarify all "disappearances" and to investigate all torture allegations and deaths in custody. Amnesty International also called for the commutation of all death sentences. In July Amnesty International publicly criticized the unfairness of trials before the State Security Court, and urged the government to review all sentences already passed by the court, including death sentences. Amnesty International also expressed concern that the 14 people charged in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate George Bush (see above) might not receive a fair trial in view of statements by the US and Kuwaiti governments which appeared to undermine the defendants' presumption of innocence. Amnesty International published a report in September, Iraq: Secret detention of Kuwaitis and third-country nationals, which highlighted the cases of 140 people believed to be detained in Iraq since the end of the Gulf conflict (see Iraq entry). The organization publicly urged the Kuwaiti Government to make available immediately all documents left behind by Iraqi occupying forces which related to the arrest of Kuwaitis and third-country nationals by Iraqi forces, and to provide a complete list of all those who it believed remain in detention in Iraq. Throughout the year the Kuwaiti authorities failed to address the substance of any of Amnesty International's concerns and requests for information. In July the Minister of Justice publicly denied Amnesty International's claims that trials before the State Security Court were unfair.
