Kuwait City, October 21: A Kuwaiti court fined two members of parliament 3,000 dinars (10,500 dollars) each on Wednesday after convicting them of slandering top officials, including the premier, a legal source said.
The court convicted Islamist MP Waleed al-Tabtabai over critical remarks he made against Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over allegations of corruption in the health ministry.
The Al-Watan newspaper was asked to pay a similar fine for publishing his comments, the source said.
Tabtabai said in a statement that he would challenge the ruling before the appeals court.
The court convicted Shiite MP Hassan Jowhar over criticism he had levelled against the interior ministry over its treatment of the emirate’s stateless Arab community known as bidoon. The Annahar daily which published his remarks was also fined.
Kuwait’s public prosecutor meanwhile questioned journalist Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem on charges of alleged slander against the prime minister.
The premier had filed a lawsuit against Jassem after he wrote an article in the Alam Al-Youm newspaper in August alleging that media that support the premier had been stoking tensions between the emirate’s Sunni and Shiite communities.
The prosecutor also questioned opposition MP Khaled al-Tahous about allegations of defaming Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah al-Sabah.
Tahous and two opposition MPs — Mussallam al-Barrak and Saifi al-Saifi — had criticised some oil contracts awarded by state-run firms, claiming they involved corruption.
Barrak and Saifi were questioned on Tuesday.
The three MPs and Jassem were released on unconditional bail. The public prosecutor is expected to decide in the coming few days whether to press charges.
—Agencies