Kuwaiti dissident involved in 2011 storming of parliament surrenders
Kuwaiti political opposition member Musallam Al Barrak surrendered himself to authorities for his involvement in the storming of the country’s parliament in 2011.
The former parliamentarian will return to Kuwait from Saudi Arabia two months after the country’s higher court sentenced him to seven years in prison over charges of “using force and inciting unrest”.
“I am returning to the country I love and am loyal to, knowing that there is an order for my arrest, which has absolutely no resemblance to the law but is intentionally a political move,” he said on his Twitter account.
His return to Kuwait through the southern border crossing from Saudi Arabia is taking place less than two months after courts sentenced him and 65 others for their involvement in the parliament storming.
Mr Al Barrak went into self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia after serving a two-year prison sentence for insulting the ruler in a speech in 2012.
Among those sentenced were eight former MPs and two currently serving in the parliament.
Most surrendered themselves before the deadline to begin their sentence next week.
“The parliament members and the youth who entered parliament, which is the home of the people, didn’t do so with criminal intentions, but for nationalistic reasons, which their families and the majority of Kuwait’s people are proud of,” he said.
The outspoken former parliament deputy has become something of a cult hero, with a huge political following comprised primarily of Kuwait’s tribal members.
His popularity grew in the 2011 protests, when several opposition members accused Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah, who was prime minister at the time, of corruption. This eventually led to the royal’s resignation.
Many of Kuwait’s stateless citizens began protesting against their lack of rights in the country in 2011, amid protests across the Middle East.
The former politician uses his Twitter account as his main method of communicating to about 200,000 followers and drawing attention to alleged corruption cases in the government.
The Kuwait government resigned in October last year over allegations of mismanagement and triggered fears of a parliament dissolution.
Voters in Kuwait, however, are unlikely to welcome another parliamentary election, having gone to the ballot box seven times since 2006.
Mr Al Barrak won his first seat in parliament in 1996, and won six more elections after that, the last of which was in 2012.