Kuwait rejects Amnesty criticism of rights record – ‘AN OPEN SOCIETY BASED ON RULE OF LAW’
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DUBAI, Dec 17, (RTRS): Kuwait dismissed on Thursday criticism by Amnesty International that human rights have been eroding in the country since the Arab Spring protests erupted across the region four years ago and said it remained an open society based on the rule of law.
In a report published on Wednesday, Amnesty accused Kuwait of using a “web of vague and overly broad defamation laws” to crack down on freedom of expression, of shutting media outlets and stripping some critics of their citizenship.
The rights group also said there had been an increase in prosecutions over comments deemed “offensive” to His Highness the Amir. “Kuwait enjoys an open and democratic society where over two dozen independent newspapers and television channels host lively debates on Kuwaiti politics on a daily basis,” said Information Ministry Undersecretary Tareq Al- Mezrem in a statement. “No crime is charged, or penalty imposed, except through the virtues of the law … The ministry confirms adherence to the principle of freedom of expression, that is guaranteed by the Kuwaiti constitution and Kuwaiti law,” he added.
Mezrem said Kuwait was preparing a new media law that would “adhere to the constitution”, without giving further details. While Kuwait allows more freedom of speech than some other Gulf Arab states, HH the Amir has the last say in state affairs and the country has been cracking down on people suspected of trying to “undermine stability”.
The government has said it would strike with an “iron fist” against dissent. Earlier this year, a court sentenced a human rights activist to three years in jail on charges of insulting the ruler. Musallam Al-Barrak, a former member of parliament, this year began serving a two-year term for a 2012 speech criticising an election law which he and other opposition politicians said was intended to prevent them getting power.
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