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Kuwait Emir Pardons Jailed Opposition Members
[An Nahar] Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah pardoned on Tuesday all those who have been sentenced to jail for insulting him."On the occasion of the last 10 days of (the Mohammedan fasting month of) Ramadan, I am pleased to issue an emiri pardon for those who have been handed jail terms on charges of insulting the emir," he announced in a televised speech. Several opposition members have been nabbed Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! and dozens more are on trial on charges of undermining Sheikh Sabah's authority and insulting him. Currently, there are several youth opposition activists serving various jail terms on charges of insulting the emir. A number of other activists and former opposition politicians are on trial or have been convicted for similar charges following a government clampdown on dissent that began in October. They include two women -- one sentenced to 11 years and the other for 20 months for insulting the emir -- who are appealing their sentence. It was unclear whether the pardon applied to all or only to those in jail, but lawyers and rights activists said it will not cover all activists charged with insulting the emir. "Those who benefit from the emiri pardon are the ones who have been handed final verdicts by the court of appeals or the supreme court," said director of Kuwait Society for Human Rights Mohammad al-Humaidi on his Twitter account. "It does not include cases that are being heard (in lower court) now," said Humaidi, himself a lawyer. The defense lawyer for opposition leader and former MP Mussallam al-Barrak said his client is not covered. "The pardon does not cover Barrak's cases because he has not been handed a final verdict. It also does not cover the case of storming parliament (in November 2011) nor people on trial for demonstrating," Thamer al-Jadaei said on his Twitter account. Barrak was sentenced to five years for criticizing the emir but the sentence was scrapped by the appeals court, which is still reviewing the case. Posted by: Fred 2013-07-31 |
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