KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 26: The Public Prosecution is requesting the National Assembly to lift the parliamentary immunity of eight lawmakers charged with storming the parliament on Nov. 16.The official request is expected to reach the Legal and Legislative Committee this week against MPs Jamaan Al-Harbash, Faisal Al-Muslim, Musallam Al-Barrak, Falah Al-Sawwagh, Mubarak Al-Walaan, Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Khaled Tahous and Mohammed Al-Mutair. The committee decision, however, must be approved by the assembly for it to pass.
Earlier last week, the legal committee approved the lifting of parliamentary immunity of MPs Al-Tabtabaei, Al-Harbash, Al-Muslim and Mohammed Hayef on charges of defamatory remarks against the prime minister.
The Opposition Bloc had warned "cabinet MPs" on Thursday against supporting the government to lift parliamentary immunity of a number of opposition MPs. The opposition claims the government plans to detain lawmakers before the no-confidence session against the HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and decrease the number of voters needed to remove him, which is 25.
The standoff between the government and the opposition resumes this week as opposition lawmakers and activists are staging a massive rally at Al-Erada Square on Monday to demand the release of activists and that the prime minister face his grilling on the multi-million deposit scandal.
Opposition MPs further claim that their lives are being threatened and have filed complaints requesting protection. MP Salem A-Namlaan filed a complaint at Al-Subahiya police station on Saturday as other opposition MPs announced the same.
The prosecution, meanwhile, continues to detain and interrogate 31 activists who are charged with 13 offenses, including breaking into the parliament on Nov. 16, assaulting security officers and theft of public funds. Supporters of the activists have stated that some of the detainees are on hunger-strike to protest the detention and alleged maltreatment.
Further arrests have been made in the case as around 47 suspects were on a warrant issued by the prosecution earlier last week. The detainees face prison sentences between 6 months to life, according to lawyers of the opposition defense team.
The Opposition Bloc insists that the parliament invaders were invited in to the premises by MPs to escape brutality by security forces and prevent further clashes. They claim that charges of damage to Abdullah Al-Salem Hall were fabricated by the National Assembly.
This Tuesday's parliament session is scheduled to discuss a grilling request by MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Faisal Al-Muslim and Abdulrahman Al-Anjari against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah. The grilling is on the multimillion deposit scandal and the money transfers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the premier's personal accounts.
The Opposition Bloc, of 20 lawmakers, accuses the PM of failing to take the appropriate measures to uncover the truth behind the multimillion deposit scam, in which 16 lawmakers - most of whom are supporters of the government, have been implicated. The MPs are alleged to have received $350 million in bribes to sell their votes on crucial issues.
The bloc further claims the prime minister has deliberately neglected calls for drafting a general policy on combating corruption, in addition to failure to personally monitor the activities of various ministries as stipulated in the Constitution.
The grilling also alleges that the PM ordered the transfer of millions of dollars from public funds into private accounts held by him abroad. The government adamantly denies all charges.
If the grilling is debated on Tuesday, the opposition seems to have the required votes (25) to oust the prime minister. Along with the 20-member Opposition Bloc, the 5-member National Action Bloc (NAB) has affirmed they will vote against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah. It is within the government's rights, however, to request the postponement of the grilling, refer it to the Legal and Legislative Committee or Constitutional Court to assert its legality.
The parliament break-in on Nov. 16 followed the removal of a grilling request against the PM off the agenda. The grilling was submitted by MPs Ahmed Al-Saadoun and Al-Anjari in the previous legislative round but was referred to the Constitutional Court, which ruled in October that the PM should not be questioned on violations committed by the ministers as he is in charge of the general policy of the state.
Meanwhile, the NAB plans to submit another grilling request against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah to question him on the government's refusal to form a committee comprised of MPs Hassan Jowhar and Adel Al-Sarawwy to investigate and examine the suspicious MPs' bank accounts and measures the Central Bank of Kuwait has taken in that regard. The request was rejected by the government and most of the pro-government MPs on Nov. 15.
Furthermore, the Opposition Bloc plans to grill the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, on the detention of activists and abuse by security forces.