Campaign group Amnesty International on Tuesday called on Kuwait to cancel the death sentences given to seven people convicted of bombing a Shia mosque in the capital in June and killing over 220 people.
The bombing was "an utterly heinous and callous criminal act,” but the death the sentences handed by a Kuwait City court to seven people of unknown nationality were "misguided", Amnesty said in a statement.
“The death penalty is not the way to tackle terror, and these sentences do nothing to build a culture of rule of law and tolerance which Kuwait needs now more than ever. They must be overturned,” Amnesty said.
At least 27 people were killed and 227 people were wounded in the 26 June attack, which targeted the Imam Sadiq Mosque during Friday prayers in a busy area to the east of Kuwait City.
Five of the seven defendants sentenced to the death were convicted in absentia.
Another eight suspects were given terms of between two and 15 years in jail while 14 others were acquitted.
A group affiliated with the Sunni militant group Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the attack, the worst act of violence in Kuwait since the 1991 Iraqi invasion.
A Saudi citizen named Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qabaa carried out the bombing, according to Kuwait.
Kuwaiti authorities announced that they arrested 29 people in early August in connection with the bombing.
Death sentences are subject to appeal in Kuwait.
