A Kuwaiti court has sentenced 13 people to three years in prison convicted of using charitable donations to finance Hezbollah, local outlets reported on Monday, reversing previous rulings as Gulf pressure rises on the group.

The Court of Cassation, the highest in the country, also ordered the individuals to collectively pay a fine of 27 million Kuwaiti dinars ($87.81 million). The ruling overturned verdicts by two lower courts to acquit the accused, Kuwaiti news outlets Al Qabas and Al Rai reported.

Kuwait arrested 18 individuals in November 2021 for allegedly financing Hezbollah. Another five were arrested the next month on similar charges, per local reports. Amnesty International called some of the detentions “arbitrary.”

Why it matters: Kuwait has historically had tense relations with Hezbollah and has exhibited concern over the group's activity in the country. Kuwait blamed Hezbollah for the 1988 hijacking of Kuwait Airways Flight 422. The incident was one of several attacks by Iran-backed groups against Kuwait during the 1980s over the Gulf state’s support for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war.