Blame game starts for delaying stringent laws

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Nation in pain, shell-shocked after ‘broad daylight’ murder

KUWAIT CITY, April 24: Following the murder of a Kuwaiti woman in broad daylight in the suburb of Sabah Al-Salem by a compatriot in front of her young daughter, believed to be in her early teens, and her sister, the entire country is sad and shell-shocked, reports Al-Seyassah daily. In the midst of this, the high-ranking security officials have rejected random accusations slapped at the security sector of the Ministry of Interior accusing it of failing to provide protection and security for the murdered woman.

On the other hand, the security source held the parliamentarians responsible for delaying legislation and laws to increase penalties for some crimes, including assault crimes such as kidnapping, what it called forced disappearance and murder. On the issue of non-implementation of death penalties although the verdicts were issued years ago, the source said: “The Ministry of Interior is not concerned with activating the death penalty, as it is an enforcement agency, and the decision in this matter lies with the Public Prosecution.”

The source revealed the Ministry of Interior is in the process of submitting amendments to a number of laws, including penal laws, trials and pleadings, as well as conducting a comprehensive review of the security system, with the aim of restoring prestige to the security man in the street. The source explained the amendments being worked on as part of a draft law that will be referred to the National Assembly to grant the security services broader powers to combat crimes including expanded right to arrest, detention, pre-trial detention, search and surveillance. On the other hand, the sources linked what they described as “an increase in the murder rates and failure to implement the death penalty in a number of cases on the one hand, and the United Nations and international human rights organizations exerting pressure on a number of countries to do away with capital punishment on the other.

Executions
In the meantime, the sources indicated seven people were hanged on Jan 25, 2017, which is the highest number of executions in the country in one day. The British “Independent” newspaper published in its issue yesterday, a report under the title ‘Kuwait is not safe for women’, in which it referred to the recent murder in Kuwait. The report reviewed the demands of women and a number of social activists for stricter penalties for perpetrators of violent crimes against women. The Public Prosecution heard the testimonies of the victim’s sister, her husband and her daughters while the accused who appeared on Wednesday night before the Public Prosecution and confronted with the murder, showed his surprise at the death and collapsed in tears and said he did not intend to kill her and did not know about her death until after he was confronted by the Prosecution.

It is reported that cases have been filed against the ‘murderer’ for allegedly forcing the victim to divorce her husband and marry him. At the parliamentary level, MP Muhannad Al-Sayer presented two proposals one calling for creating a new department in the Ministry of Interior to protect witnesses and victims, and another to establish a special judicial department for murder crimes to ensure the speedy completion of such cases.

In other news, a group of women clad in black demonstrated at the Al-Irada Square to mourn and denounce the murder of ‘Farah Akbar’ who bled to her death in front of the Adan Hospital where she was dumped by her ‘killer’. Several women’s activists, the victim’s family, citizens and human rights activists, led by deputies held banners denouncing violence against women and demanding retribution for the victim according to the law. The demonstrators put forward six demands – execution of the murderers in public, updating legislation to protect women, punishing Farah’s killer quickly, according to the law, more measures to stop violence against women, raising community awareness of women’s rights and holding accountable those who were reluctant to protect the victim of ‘Sabah Al-Salem’.

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