A criminal court in Kuwait sentenced to death Sami...

A criminal court in Kuwait sentenced to death Sami al-Mutairi, a 25 year old Kuwaiti, for the murder of an American civilian near a US army base in the emirate. Mutairi was found guilty of staging a highway ambush on 21 January 2002 that killed Michael Rene Pouliot and seriously wounded David Caraway, both contractors for the US army. Mutairi was also given a total eight-year jail sentence on other charges, including illegally leaving Kuwait, according to a court statement.
"The verdict is very harsh but fortunately we have a right to appeal the verdict and we will appeal," Defence lawyer Osama al-Munawer said.
"I maintain that he is innocent and I am convinced he is 100 percent innocent. No proof has been shown (of guilt) during the trial and the problem was his confession to the prosecutor, but it had been obtained under duress." Mutairi, who pleaded not guilty, fled to Saudi Arabia where he was captured two days later and brought back to Kuwait.
An interior ministry statement released after his arrest said he admitted the crime and "confessed he embraced the ideas of al-Qaeda.
"The court said on Wednesday it had become convinced that Mutairi was influenced by "fatwas" (religious edicts) issued by the al-Qaeda terror network calling for jihad, or holy war, against what he considered "American invaders."