KUWAIT CITY, April 4 (UPI) -- Kuwait is set to execute five people by hanging, while 44 others are waiting on death row, officials said.
The five executions will take place within days, Gulf News reported Thursday.
"Instructions have been given to the Central Prison to prepare for the hanging of five inmates sentenced to death," officials told the Arabic daily Al Jareeda.
The 44 others are awaiting decisions from the Court of Cassation, Kuwait's highest court that can oversee their cases.
Monday, Kuwait carried out three executions -- a Saudi, a Pakistani and a Kuwaiti resident were hanged at the Central Prison after being convicted of murder. Their executions had been postponed for unspecified reasons since May 2007.
The executions come after a statement by Amnesty International that said Kuwait's decision to carry out the executions marked "a real setback in a region where many countries show a shocking disregard for the right to life."
