Trial begins for Kuwaiti politician accused of insulting Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

Mubarak Al Duwailah is accused of publicly insulting Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

ABU DHABI // A Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood politician has been legally named as a felon after he failed to appear in court to answer charges of publicly insulting a leading member of the royal family.

Mubarak Al Duwailah – who is being tried at the Federal Supreme Court in his absence – is also accused of saying that the Judicial Department had fabricated evidence against the group of Muslim Brotherhood members who were jailed in 2012 for attempting to overthrow the UAE Government.

The alleged comments against Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces,were made on Al Majlis TV, Kuwait’s official parliament channel, in December.

He was arrested 10 days later in Kuwait, but was released on bail.

The court heard that during a live broadcast, Al Duwailah had said that Sheikh Mohammed was “hostile towards the Sunni sect, which is a pretext for Sunni extremists to threaten his life”.

The prosecution said such a statement implies that Sheikh Mohammed was not impartial to all other people, which is not true. They said Al Duwailah had abused religion to promote ideologies that stirred discord and harmed national unity and the peace of society.

He also used the TV channel to spread information that put national security at risk, which in turn put employees at Al Majlis TV at the risk of aggression from others.

Regarding the 2012 sedition trial, the court heard that Al Duwailah had broadcast false rumours that the group had been “framed” and that the information presented in court was fabricated.

The case was adjourned to September 14.