Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 12 people convicted in absentia of spying for Iran and Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry said on Saturday. Kuwait had charged 25 of its nationals and an Iranian citizen after the discovery of guns and explosives in a raid on the so-called "Abdali cell" in 2015, which escalated sectarian tensions. Kuwaiti prosecutors alleged that the men intended to carry out "hostile acts" against Kuwait. One person was sentenced to death, the rest to prison terms. In June, Kuwait's highest court overturned the death sentence and reduced some of the prison terms while increasing others. At least 14 were sentenced in absentia, including the Iranian national. "The interior ministry announces that security services have arrested in different regions 12 people sentenced in the so-called Abdali cell," a statement from the ministry and carried by the state news agency KUNA said. Authorities are still searching for two others convicted in the same case and still on the run, the statement added.
