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Former Kuwaiti MP sentenced in absentia for insulting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

October 11, 2016 at 9:19 am

Kuwait’s criminal court issued new sentences in absentia on Monday against former Kuwaiti MP Abdul Hamid Dashti on charges of insulting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The new sentences included 3 years in prison with hard labour for insulting Bahrain, and 3 more years with hard labour for his comments about Saudi Arabia. The former MP now has a total of 31 years and six months’ worth of prison sentences stacked up.

The prosecution service in Kuwait has asked Interpol to issue an arrest warrant for Dashti, who has fled the country. The warrant calls for him to be handed over to Bahrain so that he can serve the prison sentences there.

Although the Kuwaiti parliament lifted Dashti’s immunity in March 2015, the sentences are preliminary and he can appeal against them within a month of them being issued.