The 2009 Kuwait wedding fire was an arson attack that occurred during a wedding ceremony in Oyoun,

Jahra Governorate Jahra Governorate ( ) is one of the six governorates of Kuwait. It is the largest Governorate in Kuwait accounting for 63 percent of its land area. It includes the town of Al Jahra, most of the northern and western parts of Kuwait, several isl ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

on 15 August 2009.

Arson attack

The groom's 23-year-old first wife, Nasra Yussef Mohammad al-Enezi, who was alleged to have exacted revenge for her husband taking a second wife, poured petrol on a tent where women and children were celebrating, setting it on fire. Within around three minutes, the whole tent, which had only one exit and did not meet

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...

regulations, was engulfed in flames, trapping many inside. It had been claimed that the temperature inside the tent exceeded .

Victims

At least 57 people were killed and about 90 others wounded; it was the deadliest civilian disaster in Kuwait in the prior 40 years. Many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition and had to be identified from DNA and dental records.

Arrest

Nasra was arrested the following day and confessed. She was charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, and arson. Her trial started in October 2009, during which she denied the charges, saying that she had confessed under duress due to threats. Nasra also claimed that she had lost a baby after she was given abortion pills by a prison employee related to her husband. In November 2009, Judge Adel al-Sager ordered her to undergo psychiatric tests after her defense lawyers claimed that she had suffered unspecified mental disorders when she was a child. He also agreed to summon her husband and her Asian maid. The two implicated her in starting the fire. Nasra later said that she poured "cursed water" onto the tent in a black magic ritual, but not gasoline. In March 2010, Nasra was found guilty of 57 counts of premeditated murder and starting a fire with the intent to kill and sentenced to death. She was hanged at Central Prison on 25 January 2017 and was one of seven people executed in Kuwait that day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwait Wedding Fire 2009 crimes in Kuwait 2009 fires in Asia Arson in Kuwait Attacks on weddings August 2009 crimes in Asia Mass murder in 2009 August 2009 in Asia Arson in 2009 21st-century mass murder in Asia