Kuwait's Opposition on Trial
While many are hailing Kuwaiti opposition figure Musallam al-Barrak as a symbol of rebellion, his public stances reveal a conservative man with a controversial agenda, Mona Kareem writes.
Earlier this week, Kuwait’s court sentenced the opposition front man Musallam al-Barrak to five years in prison for insulting the emir, an act criminalized by the Kuwaiti constitution.
The verdict has been awaited for months and it was not the only case that al-Barrak was facing. Al-Barrak was also to attend another trial over storming the parliament with other MPs and protesters in November 2011. When al-Barrak was arrested in November 2012 for insulting the emir in a public speech, thousands marched to the central jail, prompting his release in less than 48 hours. We thought this man was too powerful to be jailed, so why would authorities commit political suicide by angering his supporters? No one can frighten the authorities anymore it seems, and here are some factors to consider:
