Twenty-eight people convicted of serious crimes are currently on death row in Kuwait's only prison, whose capacity has been exceeded by 50 percent, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Capital punishment is uncommon in Kuwait, but a 1995 law which, stiffened penalties for drug trafficking has increased the number of death sentences handed down by Kuwait's courts.
The majority of the convicts facing the gallows have been sent down for drugs trafficking or murder.
Al-Qabas paper also quoted security sources as saying that the emirate's central jail had a capacity of 2,000 but currently housed some 3,000 inmates.
Kuwait has allocated some 40 million dinars (131 million dollars) to build a new prison complex, but this is not expected to be ready for another two years.
Violent crime, including murder, assault and robbery, has soared in the oil-rich emirate since the 1991 Gulf War that ended seven months of Iraqi occupation, according to official figures.
Death sentences, normally carried out by hanging in Kuwait, can be appealed twice and must receive the final approval of the emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has the right to commute them.
Seventeen people have been executed in Kuwait since 1991 - KUWAIT CITY (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
