A Kuwaiti judge yesterday ordered 10 men suspected of recruiting anti-US fighters for Iraq to be detained for a further two weeks, their lawyers said. The suspects, who include three teenagers and an adult extradited from Syria last month, have "categorically denied the accusations against them and said their confessions were made under duress," Osama Al-Munawer told AFP. "There was a state security officer present during questioning by the prosecution, while defense lawyers were barred," he said. The 10, arrested last month, are among a group of Islamist activists suspected of encouraging Kuwaitis to travel to Iraq to fight US-led occupation forces. Lawyer Abdulrahman Al-Rasheedi claimed the investigating authorities have failed to present "any substantial evidence" for the charges.
| "Yeah! Y'got nuttin', nuttin', I tells yez! All the witnesses are dead!" |
According to legal sources, the 10 face charges ranging from plotting to carry out terrorist attacks against US forces in and outside Kuwait, illegal possession of arms, inciting others to attack US forces and joining a terrorist group outside Kuwait. Authorities say 14 people have been arrested since the crackdown began a month ago, but legal sources and press reports have put the figure higher.
"How much higher?"
"11 million."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"When was the last time you saw Jordan?" |
Three suspects were released last week, each on bail of $1,000. The authorities are also pursuing four men wanted for matters related to "state security". They include Khaled Al-Dossari, spokesman for the Association of Victims of Torture and Arbitrary Arrest. Unconfirmed reports have said Dossari is in the Iraqi town of Fallujah.
Rasheedi told reporters last week that the 10 suspects, who are being held in the central prison, staged a hunger strike to protest their alleged maltreatment and to attract attention to their case. The authorities have denied they were on such a strike. Munawer has alleged that Kuwait's recent crackdown stems from US pressure on the emirate. |