Kuwait executed seven prisoners, Wednesday, in a rare mass execution, at a time when international protests against the executions are rising.
The state-owned Kuwait News Agency reported that those executed were convicted of premeditated murder and other charges in Kuwait. Among the dead were three Kuwaitis, a Kuwaiti woman, a Syrian, a Pakistani and an Ethiopian woman.
Kuwait confirmed the implementation of the mass death sentence in the central prison. It did not specify the method used to carry out the executions.
What is the international reaction to the executions?
The European Union strongly condemned the executions. This coincided with a visit by European Commission official Margaritis Schinas, the commissioner in charge of promoting the European way of life, to the country, the European Union stated.
The European Union said in a statement, “The European Union calls for a moratorium on executions and for an effective and complete moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty as a first step towards the official and complete abolition of the death penalty in Kuwait.” The death penalty is a “cruel and inhuman punishment”.
Schinas also warned that the EU “will draw the consequences of this on discussions on the proposal to put Kuwait on the visa-free list of countries.”
According to the European Union, Kuwait’s ambassador to Brussels will be recalled.
The European Union Parliament is scheduled to vote on Thursday on a proposal to raise visa requirements for Kuwaitis and Qataris in the EU.
Amna Guellali, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International, called for a halt to the executions. “The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the most cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” she said.
The last time Kuwait carried out an execution was in 2017. Similarly, it was a mass execution of seven prisoners. A member of the ruling family was also executed.
los/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)
