Kuwait Times

Kuwait arrests opposition figure

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KUWAIT: Kuwaiti secret police arrested the leader of an opposition youth group early yesterday following a complaint from the Saudi embassy, the interior ministry and activists said.

Civil Democratic Movement leader Tareq al-Mutairi was detained after he ignored a summons by the public prosecutor’s office over a complaint by the Saudi embassy, the interior ministry said on its Twitter account. It gave no details of the Saudi complaint.

The CDM accused the authoritie­s of kidnapping its leader and said it would hold them responsibl­e for his safety. It said on Twitter that Mutairi was detained by armed men in civilian dress as he was returning from a meeting of opposition groups.

The CDM has campaigned for wide-ranging reform in the Gulf emirate with government­s drawn from the elected parliament rather than the ruling family.

On Friday, Kuwait arrested the leader of the Islamist Ummah Party, Hakem Al-Mutairi, for allegedly insulting neighborin­g Saudi Arabia on television. He was released on Sunday after questionin­g by prosecutor­s. In recent months, the government has cracked down on online criticism of its Gulf Arab and Egyptian allies. Authoritie­s have detained several activists and former lawmakers for alleged insults to Egyptian, Saudi or United Arab Emirates leaders. — AFP

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