Court finds Kuwaiti national guilty of spying for Iran and Hezbollah

Dubai: A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a Kuwaiti national to life imprisonment after overturning an earlier 10-year jail term in a case involving espionage for Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The State Security Court of Appeal found the defendant guilty of seeking to cooperate with foreign entities in activities deemed harmful to Kuwait's national security and sovereign interests.

According to court documents, the defendant travelled repeatedly to the Iranian city of Qom, where he met senior security figures and underwent intensive military training supervised by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

Prosecutors said the training included the use of firearms and the operation of drones, with the aim of carrying out activities that threatened Kuwait's internal security.

In separate rulings issued during the same session, the court overturned a three-year prison sentence imposed on a Kuwaiti woman accused of inciting sectarian tensions and promoting Hezbollah through WhatsApp and Snapchat, acquitting her of promoting the group and waiving punishment.

The court also upheld a three-year prison sentence for another Kuwaiti national convicted of insulting the Prophet Muhammad's companions, inciting sectarian discord and spreading false information to a bank during a period of heightened security tensions.