KUWAIT CITY, April 19: In accordance with the directives of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to reduce life sentences to 20 years, 30 inmates who had served more than 20 years at the Central Prison were released yesterday.

Security sources informed Al Jarida that the General Administration of Correctional Institutions released 17 Kuwaiti citizens, who will be required to wear electronic monitoring bracelets for five years. Additionally, 13 expatriate inmates were transferred to the deportation prison, pending their removal from the country.

The release of five other inmates is still under review, as they committed additional crimes while serving their sentences.

The sources clarified that the decision to reduce life sentences did not apply to those convicted in state security or espionage cases. This includes individuals such as Alaa Hussein, the former head of Kuwait’s interim government during the Iraqi invasion, and another citizen — an officer in the National Guard — convicted of espionage with Iraq during the Ba’ath regime.

A committee reviewing life sentence cases required that each eligible prisoner obtain a certificate of rehabilitation counseling from the Ministry of Endowments. In addition, inmates must have no ties to foreign entities and no involvement in state security offenses.

According to sources, the longest-serving expatriate inmate released was an Egyptian national who had served 33 years in prison for murder. Originally sentenced to death, he was pardoned by the victim’s family, and his sentence was subsequently reduced to life imprisonment. Among Kuwaiti citizens, the longest-serving inmate had spent 27 years behind bars for drug trafficking. The majority of those released had been convicted of murder.