The Kuwait Criminal Court on May 6, 2026, acquitted a Kuwaiti man of charges involving consensual sexual relations with a 20-year-old woman that caused her pregnancy, citing insufficient evidence. The court sentenced the woman to seven years in prison for the charges brought in the same case, Arab Times reported, after the defense argued the pair was never caught in the act, the man denied the claims, and the woman’s account seemed implausible and possibly malicious.
The defense attorney maintained that the absence of concrete proof proved decisive in the trial. According to Arab Times, the lawyer told the court that the man’s consistent denial further weakened the case presented against him. The attorney also raised the possibility that the accusation was malicious, urging the judges to consider this in their deliberations. This line of reasoning contributed to the acquittal of the Kuwaiti man on all counts.
Kuwait’s penal code criminalizes certain forms of consensual sexual activity outside marriage. According to the U.S. State Department, the penal code criminalizes adultery with up to five years in prison. Human Rights Watch has reported on these statutes in its World Report, noting their application to both citizens and residents. In a separate February case, the Criminal Court sentenced a security officer at Kuwait International Airport to seven years imprisonment for rape, the State Department report indicated.
A document from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights outlines Article 194 of Kuwait’s 1960 Penal Code. It states that anyone who engages in consensual copulation with a woman who has attained the age of 21 and who is not a close relative, if caught in the act, shall be liable to incarceration for a period not exceeding three years and not less than six months. A woman who accepts the act is liable to the same penalty, according to the document.
The pregnancy appears to have been a pivotal piece of evidence in prompting the legal action against both parties. Arab Times coverage of the story did not disclose the names of the individuals involved. The case was heard in the Criminal Court, which handles a variety of serious offenses in the Kuwaiti judicial system. Officials from the Public Prosecution presented the case during several sessions before the verdict was announced.
Kuwait has pursued legal reforms in recent years, including through Decree-Law No. 70 of 2025. The law repealed Article 182 of the Penal Code, which had allowed an abductor to escape punishment by marrying the victim with the guardian’s permission, according to Arab Times reports on the reform. This adjustment formed part of broader updates to address elements of the legal code.
