Kuwait parliament lifts immunity of four MPs

Kuwait’s parliament on Tuesday agreed to strip four lawmakers of their immunity, days after the legislative and legal committee made its recommendation.
The Public Prosecution had requested the lifting of the immunity of three MPs, Jamaan Al Harbash, Waleed Al Tabtabai and Mohammad Al Mutair, who were facing criminal investigations in the case of storming the parliament while MP Ahmad Al Fadhl is involved in a misdemeanour, Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.
In November 2011, dozens of young people, led by mainly Islamist lawmakers at the time, forced their way into the parliament building and reached the main hall where they reiterated their calls for the resignation of the government.
The crowd targeted the parliament after they were not allowed to march towards the residence of then-Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah following a rally in a square in Kuwait City.
The cabinet eventually stepped down on November 29, but the case against those who took part in the parliament storming was not closed and several participants, including nine parliamentarians, were summoned for questioning.
The legal probe was launched after the Emir pledged a zero-tolerance policy towards those found guilty of involvement in the unprecedented incident.
At the time Al Tabtabai said that “being summoned by the public prosecutor is a great honour for me.”
“What we did is a source of pride because we did our best to save the country from a government and a parliament that harmed political life,” he told Kuwaiti media.
The other ex-MPs summoned are Musallam Al Barak, Khalid Al Tahoos, Faisal Al Musallam, Jamaan Al Harbesh, Falah Al Sawagh, Mubarak Al Waalan, Mohammad Al Mateer and Salem Al Namlan.
Al Fadhl’s immunity was lifted to allow the investigation into cases brought against him over tweets and a newspaper column.

Source: Manama