Kuwait arrests 12 over ties to Iran, Hezbollah

kuwait city — Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 12 people convicted in absentia of spying for Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Kuwait had charged 25 of its nationals and an Iranian citizen after the discovery of guns and explosives in a raid on the socalled “Abdali cell” in 2015. Kuwaiti prosecutors alleged that the men intended to carry out “hostile acts” against Kuwait.

One person was sentenced to death, the rest to prison terms. In June, Kuwait’s highest court overturned the death sentence and reduced some of the prison terms while increasing others. At least 14 were sentenced in absentia, including the Iranian national.

“The interior ministry announces that security services have arrested in different regions 12 people sentenced in the so-called Abdali cell,” said a statement from the ministry and carried by the state news agency Kuna.

Authorities are still searching for two others convicted in the same case who are still on the run, the statement added.

Kuwait has protested to Lebanon over the alleged training of the so-called Abdali cell by Hezbollah, which has ministers in the Beirut government.

Last month, authorities expelled 15 Iranian diplomats and shut down the military, cultural and trade missions of the Iranian embassy over Tehran’s backing of the “terrorist cell”. > SEE EDIT