Kuwait executes five, including 2015 mosque bombing convict
The executions are the first since November of the previous year when seven people were put to death after a five-year moratorium.
Kuwait carried out multiple executions on Thursday, including a man involved in a 2015 ISIS suicide bombing that killed 26 people in Imam Sadiq Mosque in Kuwait City.
The executions are the first since November of the previous year when seven people were put to death after a five-year moratorium. Among the executed was Abdulrahman Sabah Saud, the main convict in the 2015 terrorist bombing.
Most of those executed were convicted of murder, with one being a Sri Lankan national put to death on drug charges. The move has raised concerns as it marks a rise in the use of the death penalty in Kuwait, with Amnesty International pointing out that the execution of non-violent offenders is incompatible with international law.
"When it is used against non-violent offenders such as the Sri Lankan killed today, it is incompatible with international law," Amnesty's Kuwait researcher, Devin Kenney, said as quoted by AFP.
The Imam Sadiq Mosque ISIS attack in Kuwait occurred on June 26, 2015, when a suicide bomber affiliated with (ISIS) targeted the crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the capital city. The devastating attack resulted in the deaths of 26 people and left many others injured.
The mosque, a place of worship and community, was shaken by the bloodiest act of terror in Kuwait's history. The incident had a profound impact on Kuwait and heightened concerns about the rise of ISIS violence in West Asia.