Kuwait – Kuwait’s Emir, His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah visited the renovated Imam Sadek mosque in al-Sawaber area on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack that took place in June 2015.

Sheikh Sabah was accompanied by the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah.

Emir of Kuwait toured the mosque after the completion of renovations and met with the families of the martyrs before the prayers.

Sheikh Sabah addressed the families of the martyrs stressing that: “Our national unity is impregnable fence to maintain security, besides the national spirit manifested by the people of Kuwait, as well as love, dedication to their homeland and loyalty to it with God’s help would fend off all criminal and terrorist acts”. He asked Allah to bestow his mercy on the martyrs and keep Kuwait safe always.

Sheikh Sabah added: “A year after this grave event, we all thank Allah for the completion of renovation of the mosque in a record time.” Sheikh Sabah said that this proves the unity of the nation in confronting deviant thoughts and ideologies.

In 2015, a terrorist blast targeted Imam Sadek mosque killing 26 worshipers and injuring 227 others. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the attack, Sheikh Sabah was among the first officials to visit the site to ward off any sectarian tension. He also ordered that victims be considered as martyrs of the nation.

Two weeks before the reopening of the mosque, Court of cassation confirmed the death sentence to the main convict in the bombing Abdulrahman Sabah Idan, known as Saud, a stateless man (Bidoon) who drove the Saudi suicide bomber to the mosque during Friday prayers.

The court also upheld jail terms between 2 and 15 years for eight people, including four women, and acquitted 15 others including three women and the owner of the car that was used to drive the suicide bomber to the mosque.

The court did not hear the appeals of five others — four Saudis and a stateless man — who had been sentenced to death in absentia by a lower court. Under Kuwaiti law, sentences issued in absentia are not reviewed by higher courts until those convicted appear in person.

The four Saudi men still at large include two brothers who smuggled the explosives belt used in the attack into Kuwait from neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Twenty-nine defendants, including seven women, had been charged with helping the Saudi suicide bomber attack the mosque, which was the bloodiest in Kuwait’s history.