The Court of Misdemeanors  finished hearing the pleading of Dr. Abdulhameed Dashti defenders in the complaint Submitted by  the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim against him

press release

Kuwait's Misdemeanor Court on Monday (October 29th, 2018) heard the case of Dr. Abdul Hameed Dashti in the complaint of the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim against him The Information Office stated immediately after the session:

There is no basis or fundament for the prosecution of the former deputy Dr. Abdulhameed Dashti as a criminal in Kuwait who has been living in forced exile in European countries and has been publishing his activities there since March 2016

The court of misdemeanors has just finished hearing the defense of former deputy Abdul Hamid Dashti in accusing the public prosecution of insulting and libeling the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq al-Ghanem through tweets that contained  insulting phrases

Lawyer Youssef Dashti defended Dr. Dashti In a defense that two European lawyers were participated in it, Belgian lawyer Jean F and Swiss lawyer Olivier B, who prepared a written Defense Note presented to the court of misdemeanors and was included in the defense memorandum and the two European lawyers attended the court proceedings.

The defense based on that Dr. Dashti did not commit any crimes as the matter out of the specialization of  jurisdiction of the national judiciary, since the tweets attributed to him were published during his stay abroad and the Public Prosecution did not submit a statement that this act is criminal in the country where he resides in a number of the European Countries in the context of his activities in international forums related to the activities of human rights and the promotion of democracy in these countries, and the European Convention regulates this matter in these countries for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which do not regard such acts as criminal offenses because they are related to freedom of opinion and expression, also The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which was approved by  the State of Kuwait, the matter that prohibits the application of national law in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of the Penal Code, which required that the jurisdiction of the national judiciary on the Kuwaiti citizen in crimes that he committed  abroad, as the act is criminalized by the laws of his country and the laws of the country in which the act was committed.

Dr. Dashti defenders also insisted on the need to call the investigating officer, who conducted the investigations to discuss him  in his witness. The defense of Dr. Dashti also stated that there is no official status. for the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly mentioned in the documents , as the complainant had a certificate issued by the Council in 2013, Dissolved by Amiri Decree No. 276 to dissolve the National Assembly. The case documents did not include what proves the status of Speaker of the National Assembly for the time of submission of the complaint in the light of the decrees dissolving the Council and inviting voters to vote.

Dashti defenders maintained the committing  of the crime as the time period for the indictment exceeded the legal period for submitting the complaint, three months after the date of publication, as well as the absence of the victim's determination, since many of the tweets were not directed mainly to  Al Ghana who claimed that Dashti directed them to him.  The defenders of Dashti requested the innocence due to the availability of the right of criticism according to the Kuwaiti judiciary that has taken to expand it to consolidate this constitutional principle and ended their oral pleading by presenting the defense memorandum and the supporting documents.

On his own, former MP Abdulhameed Dashti commented that the matter is subject to article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in Rome on 4 November 1950, which mentioned that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

This is a very similar article to article 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in which Kuwait and all European countries are parties in it.

Dashti said that the courts distinguish between ordinary individuals and people working in the public context as public figures or political figures subject to  evaluate their actions, as is the case with Marzouq al-Ghanim as speaker of the parliament and has a public position  and that the tweets do not relate to any issues of his private life , which I considered  as a former colleague and as a member In Parliament as I was unjustly prevented from participating in the general elections to continue to comment on political developments in the various media through social media, so as a former representative elected by the people and representing the electorate, turns to their concerns and defends their interests, so Intervention in the freedom of expression of opinion for  one of a present or former member of parliament requires a thorough checking by the court.