Manama: Kuwait’s public prosecution has quizzed a Kuwaiti lawmaker over tweets deemed offensive to Bahrain.
MP Abdul Hamid Dashti reportedly was interrogated for over four hours in the presence of three lawyers in a case filed by the Kuwaiti government following a formal complaint by Bahrain’s foreign ministry about the negative remarks against the government and people of Bahrain, local daily Al Seyassah reported on Tuesday.
The lawmaker is facing charges of putting Kuwait’s relations with a sisterly state at risk and of insulting the government and people of Bahrain in his tweets.
However, Dashti rejected the accusations, claiming that the complaint against him was malicious and the accusations were made to punish him for his performance in the Kuwaiti parliament and for his drive to protect public funds.
He said that he enjoyed immunity as a lawyer and international immunity for his status in an international rights group in Geneva.
The lawmaker said that he was not daunted by the case against him and that he would continue to fight corruption in Kuwait, a claim that the daily described as an attempt to distance himself from the controversy into which he waded last month.
The prosecutor allowed Dashti to go home after paying 1,000 dinars (Dh12,711) bail.
In his tweets in September, Dashti, known for his fierce defence of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, referred to political decisions in Bahrain and added that “the invaders of Bahrain will leave,” without specifying the object of his tirade.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa reacted by tweeting that “Bahrain’s respect is for the Kuwaiti parliament, and not for the nobody who attributes himself to the Kuwaiti people.”
However, in Kuwait, the tweets by Dashti, who has made similar provocative statements in the past, were flatly rejected by several fellow lawmakers who criticised him for his blatant interference in Bahrain’s internal issues.
“I dare Dashti, if he is courageous and brave enough, to identify who the invaders he mentioned in his tweets are,” MP Hamdan Al Azimi said.
MP Hamoud Al Hamdan said that Kuwaiti lawmakers had no business interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, particularly Bahrain. “The situation in Bahrain is stable and the conditions of our brothers there are steadily improving, unlike the claims made by Dashti,” he said.
MP Faisal Al Kindari said that the interference of any lawmaker in the affairs of any other country was not acceptable. “It is a shame that a lawmaker takes sides by supporting a sect or a group against the others,” he said. “We want people to support unity and we lawmakers in Kuwait should assume our responsibilities fully in representing Kuwaitis who are known for their love for their Gulf and Arab brothers,” he said.
