Arab Spring arrives in Kuwait: Opposition arrests in Kuwait: Political standoff deepens

Opposition arrests in Kuwait: Political standoff deepens — RT 

Kuwaiti MP Msallam al-Barrak (C) speaks to the press during a protest outside the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP Photo / Yasser Al-Zayyat)

Three former opposition Kuwaiti MPs were ordered to be detained for three days on Friday. They were accused of politically undermining the emir by criticizing him publicly at an opposition rally, an illegal act in the US-backed oil nation. The three, Falah al-Sawwagh, Bader al-Dahum and Khaled al-Tahus, criticized Emir Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah at an opposition rally on October 10, protesting alleged government plans to manipulate election results. “Two former [Islamist] MPs, Falah al-Sawwagh and Bader al-Dahum, have just been arrested by the state security police,"former deputy Mussallam al-Barrak, told AFP reporters. The three MPs were questioned for nine hours by authorities before finally being taken into custody on Friday.

More arrests are expected in the wake of repeated demonstrations, some of which have turned violent. Four were wounded and six arrested as police used batons to disperse some 5,000 protestors on Tuesday, October 16, angry over the political deadlock that has gripped the country for months. Sheik Sabah dissolved the Kuwaiti parliament on October 7 to prevent opposition Islamist groups from gaining more power in the government. A parliamentary election in February gave Islamists control of the 50-seat parliament. The dissolution started a 60-day deadline to hold new elections. 

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