On Thursday, Kuwaiti media reported that 18 individuals had been detained in the Gulf country due to allegations of financing of Lebanon’s prominent Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
The prosecution office ordered the imprisonment of those detained for 21 days while the investigation has been carried over allegations of “being a member in a prohibited party, money laundering and spying” continues.
The move comes amidst a diplomatic spat with the GCC countries that occurred due to the remarks of Lebanon’s information minister criticizing the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s intervention in the Yemeni war.
As a retaliation, Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Beirut and asked the Lebanese diplomat to leave the country. The Gulf country also suspended issuing visas to Lebanese citizens.
The Kuwaiti authorities imprisoned a group of Shiite Kuwaitis for spying on Iran and Hezbollah in 2016. Yet, several of those who were found guilty in that case were released in accordance with an amnesty that Kuwait’s Emir issued earlier this month, a move aimed to resolve a domestic standoff between the government and opposition lawmakers in the parliament.
