The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Professions (ACIJLP) is deeply concerned over the application of the Kuwaiti authorities the death sentence on 3 men by hanging (Pakistani, a Saudi, stateless man) on Monday 1^st April 2013.  The death penalty is executed against them in the central prison west of the capital Kuwait in the presence of judicial officials and security officials only.

The ACIJLP has raised many concerns about the return of the Kuwaiti authorities to apply the death penalty, especially since this is the first time of executing death sentence in Kuwait since 2007. The ACIJLP is concerned over the fact that application of the death penalty will be the beginning of a series of executions, especially that there are 44 persons in Kuwait sentenced to death and their sentences are not executed till now. Moreover, the ACIJLP is concerned that Kuwait has halted executions in the last six years, and then re-activate the application of this severe penalty today, a matter which feared the ACIJLP that these executions are a message to activists and political opponents in Kuwait. This opinion is supported by the fact that many TV channels, including the formal television made a direct broadcast to the execution of the penalty from inside the central prison in the presence of the Attorney General and the Committee of the Ministries of Justice and Interior, in clear violation of the provisions of Article 53 of law No. 26 of 1962 which provides that “the death penalty may be executed only within the prison or in a hidden place

The ACIJLP also believes that the resumption of the Kuwaiti government to the application of the death penalty represents a breach of the Kuwaiti international commitments, particularly because it has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 21 May 1996 and entered into force in Kuwait on 21 August of the same year.

The ACIJLP points out that the Kuwaiti legislation recognizes the application of the death penalty on many crimes that do not fit in terms of seriousness of this cruel, degrading and inhuman penalty, and in spite of the accession and ratification of Kuwait to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or degrading treatment on 8^th March 1996 and the entry into force of this Convention for Kuwait on April 6 of that year. The ACIJLP calls upon the competent Kuwaiti authorities to give consideration to respect its international commitments and conventions. The ACIJLP also demands immediate moratorium of all cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment and harmonization of its national legislation with relevant international conventions and commitments, as well as the ratification and accession to the Second Protocol on the abolition of the death penalty and to the International Covenant on Civil and political .

Complainer:

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) is a non-governmental institution that works to reinforce and support the status of justice in the Arab regions – ACIJLP is the coordinator of the Arab Coalition for International Criminal Court.

Information about the Victims:

About 20 to 25 Egyptian nationals were arrested by Kuwaiti Security Authorities, 4 of them suffered forced repatriation to Egypt on Saturday – 10/4/2010, and the rest of them will be forcedly repatriated in three groups. ACIJLP couldn’t obtain any information on the age of the victims.  

4 Egyptians from the supporters of “National Association for Change” chaired by Dr. Mohamed El Baradi’e (the former director of International Atomic Energy Agency) arrived to Cairo Airport yesterday after being forcedly repatriated by Kuwaiti Security Authorities in the wake of arresting 30 Egyptians in the aforementioned date during their attempt to organize a meeting to launch a branch of this association in Kuwait to undertake the collection of signatures of Egyptians there to validate a proxy to Dr. El Baradi’e to ask for the amendment of the constitution. The forced repatriated arrived on Kuwaiti Airlines – Flight “541” from Kuwait. They were interrogated with the Egyptian Security Authorities at Cairo Airport to know about the circumstances of their arrest in Kuwait. 

Following are the names of the forced repatriated:

1. Aly Mohamed Abdel Karim El Haddad
2. Romani Shehata Malak
3. Tamer Farrag Farghly

Ahmed Abdel Aziz Sobhy

Detailed Description of the Violation:

On Friday – 9/4/2010, a group of Egyptians – supporters to the nomination of Dr. El Baradi’e for the coming presidential election due to be held in 2011 – organized a peaceful meeting in Al Salimyea (Eastern Kuwaiti City) to express their support to Dr. El Baradi’e, yet they were arrested as well as other people taken from thier homes or nearby their homes.

The Violation: ACIJLP sees this forced repatriation as a violation to the international instruments, given the fact that there are serious fears that those repatriated could suffer torture.

The Violated Instruments:

Article 13 of  the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority”.

Article 3/1 from the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment “Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependents shall be entitled to compensation“.

The Status of Kuwait regarding the ratification of the instruments related to this violation:

1. Kuwait ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 21/5/1996 and was effectuated in 21/8/1996.
2. Kuwait ratified the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 8/3/1996 and was effectuated in 6/4/1996.

ACIJLP Claims:

ACIJLP calls upon Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Immigrants for prompt action to immediately release the arrested and stop the forced repatriation to the rest of the aforementioned detainees, and the same time ensure that the forcedly repatriated aren’t suffering any kind of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

Nasser Amin

Director General ACIJLP

As Kuwaiti authorities arrested and forcedly repatriated Egyptian national working in Kwuati on Friday 9/4/2010 as a result of exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly, ACIJLP lodged a complaint to UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Immigrants. 

The two complaints described the violation of the Kuwaiti authorities to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, specially Article 13 therefrom “An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority”.

Moreover, Kuwaiti authorities violated article 3/1 of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment “Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependents shall be entitled to compensation“.

ACIJLP indicated that Kuwait ratified the aforementioned violated international instruments upon arresting about 30 Egyptian nationals working in Kuwait and started their forced repatriation to Egypt on Friday 9/4/2010.

The arrested Egyptians organized a peaceful gathering in Al Salimyea (Eastern Kuwaiti City) to express their support to the nomination of Dr. Mohamed El Baradi’e (the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency) in the coming presidential elections due to be held in Egypt in 2011.

ACIJLP calls upon Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Immigrants for prompt action to immediately release the arrested and stop the forced repatriation to the rest of the aforementioned detainees, and the same time ensure that the forcedly repatriated aren’t suffering any kind of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.