MPs oppose ban on ‘visas for relatives’
7 rapists sentenced to death
Islamist MP Waleed AlTabtabai said yesterday that a number of MPs are planning moves against a recent Interior Ministry decision to prevent expatriates from sponsoring their parents, sisters and brothers even those living with them in Kuwait. The lawmaker described the decision, issued just a few days ago, as “unhuman” adding that it will cause many social problems in Kuwait. Tabtabai also called on the Interior Ministry to extend the visit visas for Syrian dependents and then renew their stay every year until the situations improve in Syria.
The lawmaker said the new restrictions on the residences for parents, sisters and brothers will be debated in the National Assembly human rights committee. He did not however give any timeframe for the meeting as the National Assembly is expected to close the current term next week. The Interior Ministry last week issued new regulations stating that the residence permits of parents, sisters and brothers will no longer be renewed and expats can only sponsor their wives and children.
In the meantime, Kuwait Appeals Court yesterday overturned a 10-year jail term against seven young men and sentenced them to death for abducting and raping a mentally-retarded boy and filming their action. The seven men, four Kuwaitis, a Yemeni, an Iraqi and a stateless, abducted the 13-year old boy to a chalet last September and raped him. They filmed part of the raping and threatened the boy to post the videos on social media if he spoke up.
According to the victim’s lawyer, Ibrahim Al-Bathani, the boy’s parents were in France for medical treatment as the father was suffering from cancer. His sister took care of him in their absence. The Criminal Court in April sentenced the men for a 10-year jail term each. Now the case moves to the court of cassation whose rulings are final.
The National Assembly yesterday approved the budgets and final accounts of 10 government bodies including the KUNA news agency, the Public Authority for Youth, the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. The approval came despite strong criticism by many lawmakers about alleged corruption and failure to rectify remarks by the Audit Bureau and the national assembly. With this, the National Assembly has only the state budget to pass before closing this term. The assembly will hold special sessions next week and close the term.