Authorities call for info on absconding convicts
Tabtabaei urges emergency session over pro-Iran cell
The Interior Ministry yesterday said that anyone withholding information on the whereabouts of convicts involved in the “Abdaly terror cell” should contact authorities immediately or face legal repercussions. A statement provided by the ministry urged anyone with information on the criminals to come forward and contact 112, after authorities “received evidence that some of the convicts are at large”.
The interior ministry published the pictures of 14 members of the 26-member cell who are absconding. It also published the pictures of two of three other members who had been at large since the cell was busted in Aug 2015. The ministry said in a statement that according to its records, the 14 men had not left the country from regular exit terminals. Local newspapers had reported that the men fled to Iran by sea.
“We call on all citizens and residents to cooperate with security forces and provide any information they might have,” the statement noted. The ministry warned “all those who conceal any information on the convicts or are complicit in helping them escape will face incarceration for two years and/or a fine of no more than KD 1,000”. In Sept 2015, the public prosecution indicted a number of individuals for acts that threatened national security and unity. The defendants were accused of providing intelligence to Iran and Hezbollah as well as housing weapons, ammunition and communication devices.
Meanwhile, Islamist opposition MP Waleed AlTabtabaei said yesterday he plans to call for an emergency National Assembly session to discuss the pro-Iran cell. Tabtabaei said on his Twitter account that he is coordinating with opposition MPs Mohammad Hayef and Mohammad Al-Mutair to request the emergency session for the Assembly, which is currently on summer recess. Tabtabaei and his colleagues must secure the signature of 33 MPs in order to submit a request calling for the emergency session, according to Assembly laws.
Tabtabaei and Hayef have sent several questions to the interior minister about the 14 men and demanded that the ministry issue a statement clarifying the reported escape. The 14 men were set free after the appeals court acquitted them last year. But the court of cassation overturned the ruling and sentenced them to various jail terms.