Former Kuwaiti MP who stormed parliament gets Emir pardon
Fahad Al Khannah returned to Kuwait last month to apologise and serve his jail term
Kuwait City: A former Kuwaiti lawmaker, convicted along with others of storming parliament in 2011, was released from prison after the country’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad pardoned him, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai said Wednesday. Fahad Al Khannah was one of eight MPs convicted in the high-profile case and each was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison.
After his release from prison, Al Khannah expressed appreciation to the Emir for the clemency.
“This pardon is not strange to the Emir, who is like a father for all Kuwaitis,” he said at a ceremony in his house.
“I pray to God that all others in the assembly case will be pardoned so that they can return to their homeland,” he added, according to Al Rai.
In 2011, dozens of opposition activists stormed the Kuwaiti legislature to demand the resignation of the country’s then prime minister over alleged corruption.
In July last year, Kuwait’s top appeals court sentenced eight incumbent and ex-lawmakers to 3 years and half each in connection to the case.
A number of Kuwaiti politicians and academics have reportedly signed a petition asking Emir Sabah to exercise his constitutional right and pardon political prisoners, including the eight.