Aid link to law rejected

KUWAIT: The National Assembly's legal and legislative committee yesterday approved a draft law stipulating to reduce the detention period at police stations to 48 hours, reverting an amendment by the previous Assembly. The opposition-dominated Assembly elected in Feb 2012 had introduced an amendment to cut the detention period from four days to two. It also reduced preventive detention by the public prosecution to just 10 days from 21 previously.

But at the request of the interior ministry, the previous pro-government Assembly increased the detention period back to four days at police stations and 21 days by the public prosecution. A large number of opposition MPs had vowed to introduce the amendment in the current Assembly.

But the Assembly's foreign relations committee rejected a draft law stating that the government cannot provide foreign aid exceeding KD 10 million without the approval of the Assembly through legislation. The draft law was introduced by lawmakers in light of the current difficult financial situation due to the sharp fall in oil revenues. The legal and legislative panel had approved the draft law and sent it to the foreign relations panel, which is the concerned committee.

The government told the panel's MPs that under the law, all foreign aid must be prescribed in the state budget, which is approved by the Assembly. It added that the government is not permitted to provide any additional aid without the prior approval of the Assembly through a law. As a result, the foreign relations committee said the proposed law is not required and rejected it.

Meanwhile, the Assembly's interior and defense committee requested the Assembly for a fresh two-week period to complete an amendment to the election law that bars convicts from running for Assembly seats. The amendment was passed in the previous Assembly to deprive those convicted of blasphemy or insulting HH the Amir from the right to contest Assembly elections. Opposition candidates made scrapping this law one of their priority issues. They have submitted key amendments to the law.

The criminal court yesterday issued a fresh three-year term against former MP Abdulhameed Dashti for insulting Saudi Arabia, raising to 46 years the jail terms passed against Dashti for insulting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and HH the Amir. Dashti has been living outside the country for over a year. He acknowledged the new sentence on his Twitter account and strongly criticized the democratic system in Kuwait. Most of the sentences had not been heard in the appeals court because Dashti is outside Kuwait and his appeals can be tackled only when he returns

By B Izzak.