'Iranian spies' sentenced to death in Kuwait

A pair of men were convicted of being Iranian spies and sentenced to death on Tuesday for plotting attacks in Kuwait.

One of those condemned to death, an Iranian named Abdulreda Hayder, was on trial in absentia, along with a group of 26 Kuwaiti Shias on charges of hiding large quantities of arms and ammunition in underground stashes.

One defendant was sentenced to life in prison and 19 were jailed for between five and 15 years, two of them in absentia. One was fined 5,000 dinars ($16,500), and a further three were acquitted.

Those convicted had been accused of spying for Hizballah, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia, smuggling and assembling explosives, and possessing firearms and ammunition.

Kuwaiti authorities said in August they had dismantled an Iran-linked cell and seized large quantities of weaponry, explosives and ammunition.

When the trial began in September, all 23 defendants present in court alleged that confessions were extracted under torture.

They told the court they were beaten and given electric shocks, with interrogators threatening to kill them if they did not sign prepared confessions.

The defendants were also convicted of spying for Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia Hizballah

The verdicts come as tensions deepen between Tehran and Arab states after Iranian protesters on January 2 torched Saudi Arabian diplomatic missions in the Shia-dominated Islamic Republic.

The attacks followed Riyadh's execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent cleric from the kingdom's Shia minority.

Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran the folowing day and a number of its Sunni Arab allies followed suit, including Bahrain and Sudan.

Other Arab countries downgraded ties or recalled their envoys from Tehran.

Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Iran to protest against the attacks and summoned Tehran's ambassador to express its disapproval.

Around a third of Kuwait's native population of 1.3 million is Shia.

Another Sunni-ruled Gulf state, Bahrain, said on Wednesday that it had dismantled an Iran-linked "terror" cell that was planning attacks in the kingdom. A Shia religious centre was targeted in a drive-by shooting on Monday night in the village of Widyan, south of the island's capital, Manama.

The hearing in Kuwait City on Tuesday was held amid tight security, with armoured vehicles with automatic weapons mounted stationed around the Palace of Justice.

Only close relatives of the defendants, lawyers and journalists were allowed to attend the hearing.

Iran has denied any links to the group.