Kuwait Sentences Opposition Politician To Five Years For Asking Ruler Not To Rule Autocratically

Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of the Kuwaiti parliament, appears to have his answer. Al-Barrak appealed to Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (right) in a 2012 speech not to impose “autocratic rule.” He was later arrested and has now been sentenced to five years in jail.

Al-Barrak has been a critic of changes in election laws that he and other opposition leaders believe are barring them from assuming power. In 2012, he addressed the emir by saying: “In the name of the nation, in the name of the people, we will not let you, your Highness, practice autocratic rule.”

Our erstwhile ally then promptly put him under investigation and later house arrest. This is the country that we went to war to rescue from the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. After throwing out the Iraqis, President Bush declared “Kuwait is once more in the hands of the Kuwaitis, in control of their own destiny.” It seems that is clearly true . . . so long as they do not demand to actually determine their own destiny or ask for a free voice in stating what that destiny should be.

Source: Yahoo