Kuwait jails MPs, dissidents over 2011 parliament raid

A court in Kuwait has sentenced to jail three members of the emirate’s parliament, the country’s most prominent opposition leader as well as 63 other activists over a raid five years ago that was aimed at forcing the cabinet to resign.

According to Press TV, a defense lawyer representing the defendants said the court on Monday issued jail sentences for nationalist opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak, and three MPs identified as Walid Tabtabai, Jamaan al-Harbash and Mohammed al-Mater.

Youssef al-Harbash said the 63 other dissidents who were either members of the opposition or their sympathizers were also jailed.

The sentences came over a 2011 raid on Kuwait’s parliament that failed to force the then prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Sabah to resign although the premier later stepped down amid a corruption scandal.

Barrak, who was released in April after serving a two-year sentence for insulting the emir of Kuwait, is now sentenced to seven years behind bars. MPs Tabtabai and Harbash face similar jail terms while Mater would serve a one-year term. The 63 activists were handed sentences ranging from one to seven years.

The lawyer said he would file for a mistrial, saying the hearing was held in the absence of a full defense team. Kuwaiti authorities have also jailed several people, including an MP, over criticism of the government’s alignment with Saudi Arabia in regional crises, including Kuwait’s contribution to a Saudi-led war on Yemen and the emirate’s lack of response to a Saudi-sponsored crackdown against a pro-democracy movement in Bahrain.

SS