Ex-MP jailed for insulting Kuwait emir

Reuters/Kuwait

The demonstration showed the continuing tension between former members of parliament and the government.

The Kuwaiti criminal court found Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, guilty of insulting Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah in a speech in October last year in which he appealed to the emir to avoid “autocratic rule”.

Thousands of supporters marched from Barrak’s guest house towards the central prison outside the town as a police helicopter watched from the sky. In a show of defiance, the crowd chanted phrases from Barrak’s October speech for which he was convicted of insulting the emir.

“We will not let you,” they chanted, repeating part of the fiery speech Barrak addressed to the emir.

“Repeating this speech is not in support for Barrak. It is in support of justice and for the nation,” Faisal al-Yahya, a former parliamentarian told the crowd at Barrak’s house ahead of the march.

Before the court decision, the government put a special forces squad on alert and boosted police patrols, according to the Al Qabas daily.

“I did not insult the emir. I addressed the head of state,” Barrak told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television in an interview. He was not immediately taken into custody.

The government said Barrak was given a transparent and fair hearing.

“All citizens, regardless of their position, are equal in the eyes of the law. Anyone accused of a crime in Kuwait will get a fair trial with a comprehensive legal defence and open appeals process,” the information ministry said in a statement.

Barrak’s lawyer, Mohamed Abdulqader al-Jassem, said the defence team was considering filing an appeal, saying the decision was in violation of the constitution.

He said the ruling stipulated that the sentence be implemented immediately but the judge left it to the interior ministry to decide when to take Barrak into custody.

Addressing supporters at his guest house, Barrak described the ruling as “void” but said he was ready to turn himself in to police when they come to implement the court decision, according to the www.alaan.cc news website.