New hot spot ?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-03/arab-spring-just-got-serious-again-kuwait-burning

The Arab Spring Just Got Serious Again - Kuwait Is Burning

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/03/2014 20:31 -0400

Same stuff... different country.Once again someone (former opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak) exposed the corruption among the elites (revealed documents that allegedly prove billions of illicit financial transfers were made to senior officials, including judges) and the leaders (Kuwait officials) decided he should be arrested and charged with slander. This has caused uproar among the people as hundreds of protesters rallied overnight in support of al-Barrack, marching from his house to the jail chanting: "The people want to cleanse the judiciary!" The police in the oil-rich nation of Kuwait used tear gas and stun grenades early Thursday to disperse the protesters.

As The Daily Star reports,

Kuwaiti police fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse an opposition rally demanding the release of prominent dissident Mussallam al-Barrak, activists said Thursday.

The public prosecutor Wednesday ordered Barrak, a former MP, to be held for 10 days after he was questioned for allegedly insulting the judiciary.

The court turned down Thursday a petition filed by Barrak's lawyers to release him until his trial, defense lawyer Thamer al-Jadaei wrote on his Twitter account.

The court set a July 7 date to start hearing the case against Barrak, who is charged with insulting the supreme judicial council and slander against its chairman.

Soon after the court's rejection, the opposition went into an emergency meeting to decide on further action.

Thousands of people gathered at Barrak's residence southwest of Kuwait City Wednesday night and marched on the nearby jail where the former opposition leader was detained, the activists said.

Police intervened when hundreds of protesters reached the prison, firing teargas and stun grenades to disperse them. There were no reports of any casualties.

Smaller protests were also reportedly staged in other parts of the oil-rich Gulf state.

The opposition leader is accused of slandering and insulting the supreme judicial council and its chairman, Faisal al-Marshed, in remarks made at a public rally on June 10.

Opposition groups strongly criticized the legal action against him as unlawful and "politically motivated."

At the rally, Barrak charged that former senior officials, including ruling family members, had stolen tens of billions of dollars from public funds and engaged in money laundering.

He also criticized the judiciary.

The scandal was later linked to claims that the same officials were seen in video footage plotting a coup.

Those allegations were made in a lawsuit filed last month by Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah, a senior ruling family member and former energy minister.

Sabah is scheduled to be questioned Thursday by the public prosecutor as a witness.

Most opposition groups are not represented in parliament after having boycotted a July 2013 election in protest at Kuwait's amended electoral law.

* * *

As we have noted previously,uprising against government corruption is a global trend and in the case of Kuwait (which isoil-rich, the last friendly place to US in the Middle East, and has the highest per capita Twitter usage on the planet), we suspect this 'spring' is far from over.

Things do not look good...

هذا مو الغزو العراقي
هذا غزو التجار ومن يقف معهم من اهل البشوت 

7:08 PM - 3 Jul 2014

قال تعالى : "وإذا قيل لهم لا تفسدوا في الأرض قالوا إنما نحن مصلحون ألا إنهم هــم المفسدون ولكن لا يشعرون" 

7:24 PM - 3 Jul 2014

صور لحرق واشعال الاطارات في صباح الناصر !!!

#متضامنون_مع_مسلم_البراك

 pic.twitter.com/YvlBg2gmot”

8:07 PM - 3 Jul 2014

🔴   بعض الكويتيون الذين أتهموا الشعب البحريني بالارهاب اليوم يحملون سلاح الشوزن و قنابل الملتوف !

#الكويت #kuwait 

6:54 PM - 3 Jul 2014

pic.twitter.com/OLXHck7eRs”

Protesters in Kuwait streets demanding immediate release of opposition leader Musallam Albarrak .
#cnn
#bbc
#Egypt

4:05 PM - 2 Jul 2014

منذر الحبيب @Montheralhabeeb

Rubber bullet injuries as shown in pic. #مسلم_البراك #Kuwait pic.twitter.com/udDSxZbzBg

سعاد المنيس @suadalmunayes
Follow

“@Montheralhabeeb: Rubber bullet injuries as shown in pic. #مسلم_البراك #Kuwait pic.twitter.com/RAF7Wc4ivL” @cnn @BBCArabic

6:10 PM - 3 Jul 2014

Kuwait police fire tear gas to break up opposition rally

Hundreds of protesters reach the prison where former MP Al Barrak is being held

AFP
Published: 17:32 July 3, 2014

Kuwait: Kuwaiti police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse an opposition rally demanding the release of prominent dissident Mussallam Al Barrak, activists said on Thursday.

The public prosecutor on Wednesday ordered Al Barrak, a former MP, to be held for 10 days after he was questioned for allegedly insulting the judiciary.

Thousands of people gathered at Al Barrak’s residence southwest of Kuwait City on Wednesday night and marched on the nearby jail where the former opposition leader was detained, the activists said.

Police intervened when hundreds of protesters reached the prison, firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them. There were no reports of any casualties.

Smaller protests were also reportedly staged in other parts of the Gulf state.

Kuwaitis hold rallies at night because of soaring temperatures during the day in the desert country. Muslims are also observing Ramadan, the month of fasting.

Al Barrak’s lawyer Thamer Al Jadaei was expected to file a petition on Thursday to demand the detention period be scrapped.

The opposition leader was accused of slandering and insulting the supreme judicial council and its chairman, Faisal Al Marshed, in remarks made at a public rally on June 10.

Opposition groups strongly criticised the action taken against him, saying it was unlawful and “politically motivated”.

At the rally, Al Barrak claimed that former senior officials, including members of the ruling family, had stolen tens of billions of dollars from public funds and engaged in money laundering.

He also criticised the judiciary.

The scandal was later linked to claims the same officials were seen in video footage plotting a coup.

Those allegations were made in a lawsuit filed last month by Shaikh Ahmad Fahad Al Sabah, a senior ruling family member and former energy minister.

Shaikh Ahmad was scheduled to be questioned on Thursday by the public prosecutor as a witness.

The claims plunged Kuwait into a political crisis that prompted the emir to call for calm and let the judiciary handle the issue.

Most opposition groups are not represented in parliament after boycotting a July 2013 election in protest against a change to the electoral law.

Opec member Kuwait experienced the worst domestic political turmoil in its history between mid-2006 and last year.

During that period, some dozen governments were formed and parliament was dissolved six times.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/two-injured-kuwait-cracks-down-protests/1246078945

Two injured as Kuwait cracks down on protests

#ArabAwakening

Police fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets at protesters, who called for the release of jailed opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak

Barrak accuses former government officials of engaging in massive corruption and plotting a coup (AFP)

Rori Donaghy

Friday 4 July 2014 09:40 BST

Topics:

ArabAwakening

Tags:

Kuwait, Protest, Barrak

0 comments

Kuwaiti police fired teargas and rubber bullets on Thursday evening at protesters demanding the release of opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak, according to activists.

Two people were shot, injured in the hand and leg respectively, and some 50 people arrested during protests involving several hundred people in the Sabah al-Nasser and al-Riqqa areas. Police officers blocked roads, fired tear gas and used stun grenades to disperse protesters, activists in attendance told MEE.

Protesters were demanding the release of opposition leader Barrak, who has been held in custody since Wednesday when the public prosecutor ordered he be questioned for allegedly insulting the head of the judiciary Faisal al-Mershed. Barrak gave a speech on 10 June at a rally in al-Irada Square where he claimed to have evidence exposing the theft of public funds running into the tens of billions of dollars by former government officials and senior members of the judiciary.

The scandal has deepened with claims that the same officials involved in alleged corruption appeared in an infamous video plotting a coup to unseat the country’s al-Sabah rulers, who have in turn attempted to censor local media from covering the allegations. It is an incident that has rocked Kuwait and is likely to run and run, with ruling family member and former energy minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah having filed two lawsuits demanding an investigation into the allegations.

Activists and commentators catalogued Thursday’s protest on social media, sharing photos and videos allegedly showing police officers firing stun grenades along with protesters suffering the effects of tear gas inhalation.

Kuwaitis trying to help a man inhaled tear gas used by security forces to disperse protesters #Kuwait 

7:06 PM - 3 Jul 2014

Graphic images were also posted, purporting to show injuries sustained by a man allegedly shot by police officers with rubber bullets.

Barrak is due to appear in court on 7 July and activists say more protests are planned to take place on Sunday.

“There will be a very, very big protest on Sunday called Karamat Watan (A Nation’s Dignity),” said Nawaf al-Hendal, a Kuwaiti human rights activist who attended the protest. “This will be the eighth time this protest has been organised, with one in 2012 attracting about 150,000 protesters.”

“It has been announced on Twitter that it will take place at 2200 (1900 GMT) and I expect there to be more than 20,000 people there,” he added.

The Karamat Watan Twitter account shared details late on Thursday evening, for the protest planned to take place on Sunday.

واستمرارا لمعركتنا لتطهير الوطن من الفاسدين والمرتشين 
ندعوكم للمشاركة في #مسيرة_كرامة_وطن 8  
يوم الأحد ٦-٧  س ١٠
#الشعب_يريد_تطهير_القضاء

6:46 PM - 3 Jul 2014

معلومات هامة :
البداية :الساحة الخارجية لمسجد الدولة الكبير 
النهاية :ساحة قصر العدل 
الوقت : س١٠ مساء
مرفق خريطة 
#الشعب_يريد_تطهير_القضاء

6:47 PM - 3 Jul 2014

Translation: Important information: Start-point: The square outside the big state mosque End-point: Palace of Justice Time: 10pm #ThePeopleDemandAReformedJudiciary

The 2012 Karamat Watan march is believed to have been the biggest in Kuwait’s history, with an estimated 150,000 people protesting in a country of three million people. On that occasion protesters were angry with changes made to the electoral law without their input, during a period of political turmoil for the Gulf State that saw some dozen governments formed and parliament dissolved six times.

Analysts have said this latest crisis points to a renewed period of crisis for Kuwait, citing two sides who appear unwilling to stand down.

“It seems that Kuwait is headed toward the sort of polarization we saw in 2011 and 2012 and the period of relative political calm is over,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “If neither side backs down then we could see the destabilising shift of politics from the parliamentary chamber to the street such as occurred two years ago,” he added.

Others agree that polarisation will continue, saying evidence of corruption has buoyed the opposition movement.

“The latest protests in Kuwait have, as far as I can tell, been the ‘edgiest’ so far, mainly because the visible injustice has been the greatest,” said Christopher Davidson, reader in Middle East Politics at Durham University. “Sparked by leaked images of opposition leader Barrak in prison fatigues, it has given the opposition movement the standard bearer it needs.”

Photos of Barrak in prison clothes circulated have circulated widely on Twitter, causing much anger among opposition supporters.

Catharsis Ours

Friday, July 4, 2014

The Arab Spring Just Got Serious Again - Kuwait Is Burning

Kuwait police fire tear gas to break up opposition rally

Two injured as Kuwait cracks down on protests

2 comments: