KUWAIT CITY - The Kuwaiti appeals court on Monday reopened the trial of 36 alleged Al Qaeda militants who fought bloody gunbattles with police last year.The court had been expected to issue verdicts against the suspects, six of whom were condemned to death by the lower court in December, but presiding judge Ibrahim Al Obeid allowed lawyers to file arguments. The lawyers alleged investigations conducted by the public prosecution were illegal and should be scrapped by the court, and one of them even called on the judge to reject rulings by the lower court.
The judge in May referred the case to the constitutional court to decide whether the conspiracy to commit a criminal act under Kuwaiti law applied to the defendants in the case. The court ruled in July that an article of the penal code was in line with the constitution and asked the appeals court to continue with the trial.
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The defendants are accused of being members of the Al Qaeda-linked ‘Peninsula Lions Brigades’ that was allegedly behind deadly gunfights.