The Appeals Court in Kuwait handed down jail sentences of one to seven years to 67 defendants, including current and former deputies and dozens of their supports, for convictions related to the storming of the country’s National Assembly in 2011.
The court sentenced former opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrack to seven years in jail, in addition to current deputies, including Jumaan Al-Harbash and Waleed Al-Tabtabai also to seven years and MP Mohammed al-Mutair to one.
On November 16, 2011, demonstrators and opposition MPs stormed Kuwait's parliament building and demanded then Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah to step down.
The protesters stormed parliament after the deputies had been denied the right to debrief al-Sabah on corruption allegations. After entering the building, the MPs occupied the main chamber and sang the national anthem before leaving a short time later.
The court also accused former MPs Mubarak Al-Waalan, Salem Al-Namlan, Faisal Al-Musallam and Khaled Al-Tahous to five years each, in addition to Mohammed Al-Khalifah to three.
Kuwait’s official news agency KUNA reported on Monday that some 28 defendants have been sentenced to up to five years behind bars with hard labor for the “use of force and inciting unrest,” while 23 others were given jail sentences of three years and six months with hard labor “for their violent and criminal actions.”
Another 49 defendants will face two-year prison terms with labor for “inciting policemen to revolt.”
KUNA added that the court slapped two-year jail terms on five others accused of “mobbing and assaulting police officers,” while another 10 defendants were given one-year jail terms.
Monday’s ruling is not final, as it can be challenged before the court of cassation, whose rulings are final.
