HRW calls on Kuwait to drop charges against protesters

Human Rights Watch has called on the Kuwaiti authorities to revoke mass convictions against more than 60 people who were involved in protests at parliament in 2011.

The rights group issued the call in response to what it described as the “mass conviction on November 27, 2017, of more than 60 people involved in demonstrations at Kuwait’s parliament in 2011 included convictions for assembly and speech”.

The organisation said it had reviewed the 182-page court of appeals decision which upheld convictions against 67 people, including sentences ranging from one to nine years of hard labour against opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak who was sentenced to nine years in prison. It added that the vast majority were convicted on charges of using force against the police.

Deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch, Lama Fakih, said:

These heavy-handed sentences smack of intimidation and retaliation for criticism of authorities. Regulating protests is one thing, but sentencing people to prison for offending the authorities only serves to intimidate others from speaking out.

In November 2011 hundreds of protesters entered the Kuwaiti Parliament demanding then Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah step down as a result of allegations of corruption.

Read: Kuwait sends activists and MPs to prison

Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said the protesters had threatened state security and stability and called for a tough crackdown.

In December 2013, the protesters were acquitted of all charges. However, the prosecutors appealed leading to mass convictions.