Kuwaiti Royal Gets Death Sentence

KUWAIT CITY — A court has condemned to death a member of Kuwait's ruling family for drug trafficking, according to court papers obtained yesterday.

It is believed to be the first time that a member of a ruling family in one of the Gulf Arab states receives the death sentence for a drug offense. The crimes of Sheik Talal Nasser Al Sabah "threatened society ... especially young people," who bought hashish and cocaine from him, the judge said in his verdict.

Sheik Talal had "willingly walked the path of evil" and "deserved no mercy," said the judge, Humoud al-Mutawah, in a Sunday verdict. It was not immediately clear how closely related Sheik Talal is to the head of the ruling family, which has hundreds of members.

A prominent criminal lawyer in Kuwait, Najib al-Wugayyan, hailed the verdict and sentence. "This is a magnificent indication to all that nobody is above the law," he said.

The judgment can be appealed.

The panel of three judges also found Sheik Talal guilty of laundering the money that he made from trafficking and of illegal possession of two pistols and a shotgun.

The court said hashish and cocaine were found at his home together with scales and a mixer used to prepare the drugs for sale.

In addition to the death sentence, the court fined Sheik Talal $35,000 for drug trafficking.