Kuwait’s Misdemeanor Appeals Court upheld a lower court’s acquittal of a defendant charged with possessing 27 bottles of various alcoholic beverages for sale in a vehicle rented under his mother’s name according to Al-Seyassah daily on June 27. The Public Prosecution had based its case on arrest and investigation reports. Defense attorney Youssef Al-Mohammad from the office of Inam Haidar argued that no evidence of sales money or customer correspondence was found.
The defense presented testimony from the defendant’s mother who had rented the car stating she did not see any prohibited substances in the vehicle at the time of the incident Al-Seyassah daily reported. This testimony contributed to the determination that the evidence was insufficient for a conviction. The appeals court confirmed the acquittal in its ruling.
Al-Seyassah daily said the case involved a claim that the man used the rental car to sell alcohol to customers. However the attorney highlighted the absence of any records or proof of distribution activities. The court accepted the defense position after reviewing the materials.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry maintains active campaigns against illegal alcohol production and distribution. Reuters reported that in August 2025 the ministry announced the arrest of 67 people connected to locally produced alcoholic drinks that caused 23 deaths from poisoning. The health ministry at the time noted 160 cases of methanol poisoning linked to the tainted alcohol.
Officials seized six illegal factories during that operation according to the Reuters dispatch from August 17 2025. Many of the arrested were involved in manufacturing and distributing the toxic beverages primarily affecting Asian nationals. This incident led to heightened scrutiny on all alcohol-related activities across the country.
In the acquitted case no such large-scale operation was alleged with the charges limited to possession with intent to sell the 27 bottles. The judicial focus remained on whether sufficient corroborative evidence existed beyond the initial reports. Al-Seyassah daily did not disclose the defendant’s name in its coverage of the ruling.
