A Kuwaiti criminal court has sentenced a Bangladeshi expatriate to death for murdering his friend following a dispute over photographs of his wife posted on Facebook. The accused reportedly planned the killing after the victim repeatedly refused to remove the pictures despite being asked to do so.
According to Kuwait’s Public Prosecution, the verdict was delivered on Tuesday, 3 November. The court found the Bangladeshi national guilty of intentional and premeditated murder, concluding that the killing stemmed from a personal dispute over the publication of private photographs on social media.
Prosecutors said the accused and the victim had previously shared a friendly relationship. However, tensions emerged after the victim allegedly took photographs of the accused’s wife without permission while visiting their home and subsequently uploaded them to Facebook.
The accused told the court that the photographs attracted inappropriate comments about his wife, causing distress within his family. After learning about the posts, he repeatedly asked his friend to delete the images. However, the requests were ignored.
According to his testimony, the situation became more strained when the victim allegedly posted additional photographs of his wife. The accused claimed that the repeated publication of the images created tension between him and his wife and disrupted their family life.
What began as a personal disagreement eventually developed into a desire for revenge. During the court proceedings, the accused admitted that he had decided to kill his friend because of the dispute.
Prosecutors presented details of how the murder was allegedly planned and carried out. According to their account, the accused obtained a knife with the intention of killing the victim. He then established that his friend was at a particular location at his workplace and waited outside for him.
When the victim eventually came out, the accused launched a sudden attack. He repeatedly stabbed the man in the head and other parts of his body. The injuries proved fatal, and the victim died at the scene.
During the hearing, the accused admitted responsibility for the killing and acknowledged that he and the victim had maintained a friendly relationship before the dispute arose. His statement also outlined how the disagreement over the Facebook photographs developed into resentment and ultimately led him to plan the murder.
After examining the evidence presented by the prosecution and considering the accused’s confession, the court found him guilty of deliberate and premeditated murder. It subsequently imposed the death penalty.
The case highlights how disputes involving personal photographs, privacy and social media can escalate into serious conflicts. However, the court’s ruling centred on the accused’s deliberate actions and the evidence establishing that the killing had been planned in advance.
The death sentence marks the outcome of the criminal proceedings at the court that delivered the verdict. The available information does not specify whether the accused intends to appeal the decision.
