On Saturday, Kuwait’s emir issued two decrees pardoning and reducing the sentences of 35 dissidents, meeting a key demand of opposition lawmakers locked in a months-long standoff with the government.
Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah opened the door for an amnesty for politicians and former MPs in October. The opposition has made that a condition for the end of the ongoing impasse that was halting financial reforms in the wealthy Gulf state.
The decree, which was published in the Official Bulletin, overturned the prison sentences of 11 politicians, including Musallam al-Barrak, Jamaan al-Harbesh and Faisal al-Muslim, who were sentenced for storming the parliament building during the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
Since fleeing Kuwait, the dissidents have lived in self-imposed exile in Turkey, accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement.
Members of the so-called ‘Abdali Cell,’ which was dismantled in 2015, were also pardoned by the Emir for spying for Iran and the Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah.
Kuwait’s government resigned to the Emir on Monday, as authorities work to resolve differences with the parliament that have stymied economic reforms and strained the state’s coffers in the face of low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Emir has yet to accept or reject the resignation of the cabinet.
Post Your Comments