Kuwait extradites Egyptians arrested for Muslim Brotherhood links

Kuwait has extradited a group of Egyptians arrested earlier this week over links to the Muslim Brotherhood group, state media reported on Sunday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said the group has been deported to Egypt, where some of them have been sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.

Jarallah said the move was in line with an extradition agreement with Egypt.

"We are satisfied with this cooperation… because we realise the security of Egypt and Kuwait were linked," the state-run KUNA news agency quoted him as saying.

Kuwaiti authorities announced on Saturday that they had detained an eight-man "terrorist" cell linked to Egypt's Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood briefly held power in Egypt in 2012 before being ousted and swept up in a security crackdown.

Since the 2013 military coup, Egyptian courts have sentenced thousands to long prison terms or death for alleged membership to the Islamic political movement.

Rights groups have condemned the Egyptian courts and their rulings as politicised and unfair.

Kuwait, unlike Egypt and Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has not branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.

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