Between 2 and 7 July, Kuwaiti police forces have made excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators asking for the release of Musallam al Barrak, a leading opposition figure arrested for accusing top judges of implication into a recent corruption scandal. Dozens of peaceful protesters were also arrested and have since been held in arbitrary detention.
Alkarama has submitted its shadow report in view of the Universal Periodic Review of Kuwait, which will take place in March 2015. This report provides information on Kuwait's implementation of recommendations made during its first review in 2010, especially on the issues of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, arbitrary detention and torture, as well as the issue of impunity of the perpetrators of torture in prisons.
During the November 2011 review of Kuwait, the Committee charged with inspecting the implementation of state obligations had selected three urgent recommendations that needed to be addressed within one year; namely that relating migrant workers, length and conditions of pre-trial detention, and freedom of expression. Kuwait was also required to provide information on what steps it had taken to implement these recommendations by November 2012.
On 1 May 2012, Mr Abdulhakim Al Fadhli, a well-known activist for the rights of Bidun (stateless) in Kuwait, was arrested for the third time this year and who is now charged with calling for and participating in demonstrations. Alkarama strongly condemns the persecution of Mr Al Fadhli which clearly violates his right to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly and is solely based on his commitment to the cause for equal rights of the Bidun in Kuwait.