KUWAIT: CASSATION COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE

June 1, 2015: the Cassation Court presided over by Judge Salem Al- Khudair has rejected the appeal filed by four individuals who are accused of murdering a minor Nawaf Al-Bazali in Abdali area. The court upheld the verdict issued by the Court of Appeals which sentenced the first suspect to death, second and third suspects to ten-year imprisonment with hard labor and the fourth suspect to five-year imprisonment with hard labor. Following the issuance of the court verdict, the plaintiff counsels Lawyer Ali Al-Ali and Lawyer Aziz Al-Sayed affirmed that the verdict will serve as a deterrent for criminals and those who are planning to commit crimes, especially since the phenomenon of violence has lately become prevalent in the society. They also asserted that the verdict issued by the Cassation Court should have been issued by the Court of First Instance. Earlier, the Court of Appeals had revoked the verdict issued by the Court of First Instance which had sentenced the first sentence to life imprisonment. The court instead had sentenced him to death. (Source: 1/6/2015, arabtimesonline.com)