dubai: A former United Arab Emirates minister, Khalifa Bakhit Al Falasi, was cleared yesterday of corruption charges on appeal for a second time, his lawyer said.
Dubai’s “Court of Appeals acquitted my client Khalifa Bakhit Al Falasi” along with two co-defendants, an American and an Indian who were earlier convicted along with Falasi, Hussein Al Jaziri said.
Falasi, 51, was sentenced to two years in prison on February 24 for fraudulently taking control of a company after the death of his Lebanese business partner.
He was freed on appeal on May 28, but in July, a higher court threw out that ruling, ordering the former minister without portfolio to be tried again before the Dubai court by new judges.
Yesterday’s acquittal was the result of the second appeals court trial. Falasi’s 26-year-old son was acquitted of wrongdoing in the initial trial, but the American and the Indian were handed two-year prison terms for complicity.
Kuwaiti writer held for refusing to pay bail
kuwait: A Kuwaiti writer who allegedly slandered the emirate’s prime minister was detained yesterday after refusing to pay bail, his lawyer said. Following questioning by the public prosecutor, Mohammad Abdulqader Al Jassem was ordered to pay KD1,000 ($3,500) as bail to be freed pending trial, lawyer Humoud Al Hajeri said.
“Jassem refused to pay because he believes the lawsuit against him was malicious and politically motivated. So, he was detained until today when the public prosecutor will interrogate him again,” Hajeri said.
Jassem was questioned on charges of slandering and abusing Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, at a public rally last month.
During the rally, Jassem criticised the prime minister’s management of the affairs of the oil-rich Gulf state and called on him to quit.
In October, Jassem was questioned on charges of alleged slander against the prime minister after claiming in a newspaper article that media loyal to the premier had been stoking tensions between the emirate’s Sunni and Shia communities.
The Kuwaiti premier has been under pressure from opposition political groups calling for his resignation. Last week, an Islamist lawmaker filed to quiz him in parliament for issuing a $700,000 cheque to a former MP.
Iraqi MPs again fail to break poll law deadlock
baghdad: Iraq’s parliament failed again yesterday to break a stalemate over a key election law, raising fears that nationwide polls will have to be delayed beyond a constitutional deadline.
“The vote was delayed until tomorrow (Monday),” the chamber’s deputy speaker Khalid Al Attiya said yesterday.
“We will try to clarify things to find a solution. There are proposals” being discussed, the Shia lawmaker said.
US ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill was in parliament on Sunday to try and reconcile contrasting views over the text, which was originally passed on November 8 after several delays.
It ran into problems on Wednesday, however, when Tareq Al Hashemi, a Sunni, and one of the war-torn country’s vice-presidents, used his veto to demand a greater say for minorities and Iraqi nationals who fled after Saddam’s fall.
The elections, the second national ballot since Saddam was ousted by a US-led invasion in 2003, must be held by January 31 under Iraq’s constitution.
Kuwaiti PM begins European tour
Kuwait: Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who has just concluded an official visit to Iran and briefed its top leaders about the mission, began a multi-state European tour yesterday.
He left the country starting a tour to the Vatican, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Serb Republic and Italy, according to an official statement released by the Diwan of the Prime Minister.
