Death sentence hanging over the sheik for drugs trafficking, the oil-rich principality is waiting to see whether the strict rule of law or the kinship ties of the ruling family will prevail. The sheik, who is in his 50s, was caught by Kuwaiti police with 10kg of cocaine and 75kg of hashish. When sentencing him to death, judge Humoud al-Mutwatah said the sheik had "willingly walked the path of evil" and deserved no mercy. It was the first time a Gulf royal family member had been condemned to death by a court, and the case is widely seen as a test for the impartiality of the law in a country where the convict's relative, the Emir, could pardon his wayward kinsman. Lawyers at the time hailed the sentence as a sign of the impartiality of the law. Najib al-Wugayyan, a prominent criminal lawyer, called the verdict "a magnificent indication to all that nobody is above the law".
However, Sheik Sabah has announced in the Kuwaiti press that he has appealed to the Emir to grant a pardon and that senior members of the royal family were lobbying for him with the country's ruler. Any such decision could upset Kuwaiti politicians in the constitutional monarchy, where parliament has some oversight powers to hold the ruling family accountable.
In addition to drugs trafficking, Sheik Talal was also found guilty of laundering the proceeds and of illegal possession of two pistols and a shotgun. In his home, police found scales and a mixer used to prepare the drugs for sale. Three of his associates received life sentences for trafficking, while two others were jailed for seven years for money laundering.
Kuwait, a tiny country awash with oil wealth and close to drug-smuggling routes from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe, has long struggled with drug problems and has initiated strong anti-drugs measures. As well as government rehabilitation programs, Kuwait also doles out heavy penalties to those caught dabbling in the trade -- long prison terms and the gallows for those involved in serious smuggling.
Since it introduced the death penalty 40 years ago, Kuwait has executed more than 70 people, most for drug smuggling or murder. Strict as the laws are, they are not as harsh as those in Saudi Arabia, where smugglers convicted of trafficking marijuana have been beheaded. Even there, however, a member of the royal family, Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan, has been caught up in drug trafficking.
Last year, a French court sentenced the prince in absentia to 10 years in jail and a $US100million fine for his part in a plot to smuggle two tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to Paris in 1999. Since Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with France or the US, the prince was not jailed.
Sheik Sabah's conviction was not his first run-in with the law. In 1991, he was arrested by Egyptian police and charged with smuggling heroin, which he said was for personal use only. Sheik Sabah continues to deny he is a drug dealer and said he has left his fate to the Emir. "I am drug-addicted and I am getting cured. I don't deal," he told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jareeda from his jail cell.
However, Sheik Sabah has announced in the Kuwaiti press that he has appealed to the Emir to grant a pardon and that senior members of the royal family were lobbying for him with the country's ruler. Any such decision could upset Kuwaiti politicians in the constitutional monarchy, where parliament has some oversight powers to hold the ruling family accountable.
In addition to drugs trafficking, Sheik Talal was also found guilty of laundering the proceeds and of illegal possession of two pistols and a shotgun. In his home, police found scales and a mixer used to prepare the drugs for sale. Three of his associates received life sentences for trafficking, while two others were jailed for seven years for money laundering.
Kuwait, a tiny country awash with oil wealth and close to drug-smuggling routes from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe, has long struggled with drug problems and has initiated strong anti-drugs measures. As well as government rehabilitation programs, Kuwait also doles out heavy penalties to those caught dabbling in the trade -- long prison terms and the gallows for those involved in serious smuggling.
Since it introduced the death penalty 40 years ago, Kuwait has executed more than 70 people, most for drug smuggling or murder. Strict as the laws are, they are not as harsh as those in Saudi Arabia, where smugglers convicted of trafficking marijuana have been beheaded. Even there, however, a member of the royal family, Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan, has been caught up in drug trafficking.
Last year, a French court sentenced the prince in absentia to 10 years in jail and a $US100million fine for his part in a plot to smuggle two tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to Paris in 1999. Since Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with France or the US, the prince was not jailed.
Sheik Sabah's conviction was not his first run-in with the law. In 1991, he was arrested by Egyptian police and charged with smuggling heroin, which he said was for personal use only. Sheik Sabah continues to deny he is a drug dealer and said he has left his fate to the Emir. "I am drug-addicted and I am getting cured. I don't deal," he told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jareeda from his jail cell.
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