Condolence ceremony deportation row in Kuwait drags on

Kuwait City: The ramifications of the ceremony held for Hezbollah commander Emad Mughnieh in Kuwait last month are still developing, with no end in sight.

There have been conflicting reports in Kuwaiti newspapers as to whether the authorities will deport expatriates who participated.

Two Shiite Kuwaitis, including a former MP, surrendered to the Public Prosecution early on Sunday as investigations into the condolence ceremony held to eulogise Mughnieh proceed.

Politician and former MP Abdul Mohsen Jamal, who had an arrest warrant issued against him, was investigated for hours upon his surrender. Public Prosecution investigations into the incident started when a number of nationals filed a case against a number of Kuwaitis who attended the ceremony held to eulogise Mughnieh; a name linked to several terrorist attacks against Kuwait.

The ceremony, held last month, drew hundreds of Shiite Kuwaitis and expatriates along with MPs Adnan Abdul Samad and Ahmad Lari and has fuelled sectarian tension in Kuwait.

The Public Prosecution last week extended the detention of three other suspects for further investigation. A request to release the suspects was submitted last Thursday by the defendants' lawyers but was denied.

Meanwhile, Shiite MP Abdul Samad, who praised Mughnieh during the ceremony, has threatened to grill Minister of Interior Shaikh Jaber Al Khalid Al Sabah if the Cabinet's "arbitrary measures" against public Shiite figures continues.

- Laila Ali is a journalist based in Kuwait City