Manama: Kuwait’s new interior minister has reportedly banned the publication of the names and pictures of suspects in pending cases until a court convicts them.
Reports in the northern Arabian Gulf state said that Shaikh Khalid Al Jarrah Al Sabah, who also holds the position of deputy prime minister, said that the practice that had been followed by the ministry to post the pictures and names of suspects before the court ruling had to be stopped, regardless of the nationalities of the suspects and the nature of the case in which they are allegedly involved.
All suspects are considered innocent until a court of justice finds them guilty, the minister reportedly said in his oral instructions to the ministry staff.
Shaikh Khalid insisted that the ministry stood equidistant from all parties involved in any legal case.
The ministry will be totally committed to the directives of the emir and will been keen on applying the laws and on ensuring that the higher interest of Kuwait are well served, the minister added.
“We will be united to protect the security and stability of the country, no matter the sacrifices, burdens and costs,” the minister said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Anba on Tuesday.
Sources told the newspaper that the decision was implemented starting on Monday by the public relations department which used to provide the media with press releases that included in some instances pictures and names of suspects whose cases were being investigated by security agencies.
Shaikh Khalid was the defence minister in the previous government, but swapped the portfolios with the interior minister in the new cabinet announced on Saturday following the election of a new parliament, seven months before the end of its four-year term.
