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.

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.

Kuwait has been tough on any call for reform over the past several years, fearing that such demands could affect the Al Sabah dynasty which has ruled the tiny country in the Persian Gulf for 250 years.

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.

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