U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 - Kuwait

Kuwaiti officials condemned terrorism in regional and international fora, drafted stronger money laundering and terrorist finance legislation, and implemented a government-funded moderation campaign to combat extremism. Despite these efforts, the risk of a terrorist attack in Kuwait remained high because of the Government of Kuwait's continued reluctance to confront domestic extremists and Kuwaiti supporters of terrorism active in Iraq and Afghanistan, and regional tensions, particularly sectarian violence in Iraq.

The Government of Kuwait continued to pursue prosecutions of 36 members of the "Peninsula Lions" terrorist cell involved in the January 2005 confrontations with police, 22 Kuwaiti citizens accused of "jihad in Iraq," 12 Kuwaitis involved in the 2002 Failaka Island shooting, and eight Guantanamo detainees released to Kuwaiti custody. In November, the Appeals Court upheld most of the verdicts in the "Peninsula Lions" case, including four death sentences, four prison sentences of ten years or more, two seven-year sentences, and six sentences of four years or less. The Court commuted two death sentences to life imprisonment and reduced seven other prison sentences; it also increased four sentences from seven to ten years imprisonment.

In the "Jihadists in Iraq" case, 15 defendants were sentenced to three years, three received small fines, and four were acquitted by the Appeals Court in June. The government is still pursuing cases against 12 of the defendants. In January, the Appeals Court increased the sentences of six of the 12 defendants in the Failaka Island shooting case, and imposed heavier fines, longer probation periods, and travel restrictions. Of the eight Guantanamo detainees released to Kuwait, two remained in Kuwaiti custody awaiting trial. The other six were tried. Five were found not guilty and released; the government is appealing the verdicts. One was initially found guilty, but in an appeal, Kuwait's highest court overturned the decision and issued a not guilty verdict.

Kuwait still lacked strong legal provisions to deal effectively with those engaged in conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. Kuwaiti officials stated that insufficient and incomplete evidence prevented the conviction of, or more robust sentences for, many suspected terrorists.

In August, Kuwaiti police apprehended Hamid Nawaf al-Harbi, a suspect in the "Peninsula Lions" case who was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison. Mohsen al-Fadhli, a known Kuwaiti terrorist believed to be in the country, remains at large. In December, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Kuwaiti extremist cleric Hamid al-Ali and terrorist facilitators Mubarak Bathali and Jabir Jalahmah as terrorist supporters. Kuwait continued to pursue upgrades to its border security, and worked closely with Iraq and other countries to secure the Iraqi border area. Kuwait also significantly increased security at oil installations after AQ threatened to attack oil facilities in the Gulf.

The Kuwaiti government continued to strengthen its legal regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, but problems persisted, particularly with enforcement. Although money laundering was a criminal offense, terrorist financing was not specifically prohibited. Currency smuggling into Kuwait was illegal, but cash reporting requirements were not uniformly enforced and there were no currency reporting requirements for individuals leaving the country. Members of the Kuwait National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing represented a wide range of government ministries and domestic financial institutions, but vague delineations of the roles and responsibilities continued to hinder their overall effectiveness. Kuwait was also an active member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force and had a Financial Intelligence Unit in accordance with current international standards, although it was not well-organized nor an independent body.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor took steps to increase the monitoring and regulation of the domestic fundraising activities of Kuwait-based Islamic charities, but the Kuwaiti government was less effective in monitoring the operations of Kuwaiti charities abroad. The government needed to accelerate its efforts to pass counterterrorism legislation, strengthen charity oversight, empower its FIU, monitor cash couriers, and fully conform to international standards and conventions on terrorist financing.

Toward the end of the year, Kuwait's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs opened its World Moderation Center, a special agency responsible for implementing an initiative launched in 2005 to combat extremism and spread moderation among Muslims through education, training, international dialogue, and research.