New ruling raises Dashti prison term to 45 years

‘Abdali’ verdict May 14

By Jaber Al-Hamoud

KUWAIT CITY, March 26: The Misdemeanor Court of First Instance acquitted two workers of a gas testing company who were held responsible for a fire incident in a restaurant on the day of its inauguration which injured two other workers.

The Public Prosecution accused the defendants of causing injuries to their colleagues unintentionally and of carelessness due to failure in taking necessary steps of precautions which could have prevented gas leakage in the restaurant.

However, the defense counsel Lawyer Mohammad Khalil Al-Qattan insisted that his clients were innocent of the allegations, indicating that the prosecutors could not support the allegations with any concrete proof.

He explained that there was no evidence that the company where his clients were working was in charge of connecting the pipe that had exploded.

Jail for Dashti:

Al-Qattan

The Criminal Court sentenced former MP Dr Abdulhameed Dashti to three-year imprisonment with hard labor after he was found guilty of offending a friendly nation — Saudi Arabia.

The Public Prosecution accused Dr Dashti of posting statements on Twitter, which were deemed highly offensive to Saudi Arabia without prior permission from the Kuwaiti government. He was also accused of endangering Kuwait’s diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and of misusing his mobile phone for the purpose.

Legal practitioners affirmed that the latest judgment has increased the total prison term issued against Dashti to 45 years and six months.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah disclosed that the arrest of Dashti will clash with the decision of Interpol’s Legal Committee.

He said this in response to a parliamentary question raised by MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaie. The lawmaker complained that the court issued the arrest order against Dashti while the government circulated the information to Arab and foreign countries to enhance his extradition, but the Interpol committee said the information supplied by Kuwait was insufficient for its regulations.

It will be recalled that MP Al-Tabtabaie hinted about his determination to question the minister two months ago if serious action was not taken against Dashti.

Verdict May 14:

The Court of Cassation has adjourned to May 14 to issue its verdict on the case popularly known as “Abdali Cell” filed against 26 individuals.

The Public Prosecution had demanded capital punishment for the suspects over charges of conspiring with Iran and Hezbollah to carry out espionage activities with the aim of attacking Kuwait using some explosives and ammunitions meant for criminal activities which they smuggled into the country.

Several suspects were also accused of participating in training sessions on the use of weapons and explosives at Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon.

The court had earlier upheld the verdict issued by the Court of First Instance which issued death sentence against the first defendant, sentenced the sixth suspect to life imprisonment and acquitted ten others.

It commuted the sentences of five suspects and fined four others instead of prison terms. It dismissed an appeal against the death sentence issued in absentia against the 23rd suspect until expiry of the ultimatum for appeal or judgment is delivered by the Court of Appeals.

Jail for backing ‘Nusra’:

The Criminal Court sentenced three Syrians to five-year imprisonment with hard labor and imposed a fine of $14,000. Two of them are imams appointed by Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait and the third defendant is the manager of an undisclosed company.

They were accused of collecting donations illegally in support of a terrorist organization — Al Nusra Front. The two imams used the pulpits of mosques to call for donations, urging worshippers to donate for assisting refugee families in Syria. They amassed huge amounts of money which they gave to the third suspect (manager) who transferred the money to external accounts and were to then be handed over to Al-Nusra Front.

The trio confessed to the charges during interrogations at Public Prosecution but denied the charges at the Criminal Court. They had confessed to transferring the huge amounts of money using different accounts and in small transactions in order to avoid suspicions.