Bahraini blogger insists attack was solely to silence him

Manama: Zayed Al Zaid, the Kuwaiti blogger and publisher who was assaulted last Sunday as he left an anti-corruption forum, has denied allegations that the attack was connected to a woman.

"The attempt on my life was to silence me and has nothing to do with a woman. I am now being targeted by people who want to shift the issue from a criminal case to a case where a woman is involved," Al Zaid said.

"I challenge all those behind these claims to produce any shred of evidence to support their lies. They should in all cases report what they have to the police instead of distorting facts," said Al Zaid who needed 12 stitches to close the wound on his nose.

The publisher, known for his articles on corrupt practices, said that the police needed to move quickly in order to arrest the assailant.

Acceleration

"I do not see things moving at the right speed, and I wish they could accelerate their procedures," he said.

Kuwait's prime minister told Al Zayed as he visited him in hospital on Monday that "this act will not go unpunished and we will apprehend the attackers who will be held accountable for what they did."

"I swear to God that we will not rest until the attackers are apprehended. We will devote all the state's security potential to arrest them," the prime minister said.

Al Zaid, the publisher of Alaan online news, was attacked after taking part in a forum organised by the "Kuwaiti Action Umbrella" group to discuss the latest report of Transparency International.