International Shia News Agency

Kuwait orders bail for prominent opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak

SHAFAQNA – According to Aljazeera reported that ”  Kuwait’s top court has ordered prominent opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak to be released on bail ahead of a final decision on charges he insulted the country’s ruler, the activist’s lawyer has said. The supreme court ordered the former politician to pay bail of $3,300 on Monday and set the next hearing in his case for May 18, Thamer al-Jedaei said. “We’re all very happy to see al-Barrak free, and we are hopeful that the court’s ruling next month will be in his favor,” Jedaei told the AP news agency. “We’re glad that he’s out and can be among his supporters tonight.” The charges against Barrak stem from a speech he gave to tens of thousands of demonstrators in October 2012 protesting against changes to the country’s electoral law. The 58-year-old called on Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, not to “drag the country into a dark abyss,” and said the country risked becoming an autocratic state.

Barrak was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison by a lower court, but an appeals court overturned that verdict and issued a shorter two-year sentence in February.

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