KUWAIT CITY, May 17: The Cassation Court has suspended dealing with the case of citizenship revocation of Abdullah Al-Barghash and his family until the request for changing the judge is handled.

On behalf of his client Abdullah Al-Barghash, lawyer Al-Hamidi Al-Subai’e had presented the request to the Administrative Division of the Cassation Court for changing the judge of the case.

According to the case file, the government, in July 2014, had revoked the citizenship of Al-Barghash, his two brothers, his sister and the members of their families, citing an article in the citizenship law and accusing him of acquiring citizenship on the basis of false information.

Following months of deliberations in the court during which the government was asked to give reasons for withdrawing Al-Barghash’s citizenship but it ignored the order under the excuse that the citizenship issue is a sovereign one which should be handled by the government.

Eventually, the Administrative Court had annulled the government’s decision but the government had filed an appeal against that verdict.

During one of the court sessions in the Administrative Section of the Cassation Court in April 2016, Al-Barghash had argued with the judges and raised his voice such that the judges requested security guards to remove him from the courtroom to ensure he did not disrupt the procedure. The judges later brought him back into the courtroom under strict order that he must adhere to rule of the court.

The questions he raised in a loud voice were, “Why was my family and I stripped of our citizenship? Where is the proof? We respected the law and abided by the law so why were we stripped of our citizenship?”

According to a report from the prosecution, the decision to revoke citizenship of Al-Barghash family and dependents is no longer within the prerogative of the leadership but is based on an administrative decision, which is subject to discretion of the administrative court. The decision to revoke citizenship of Al-Barghash, his siblings and family was taken by the Cabinet in line with Article 21(A) of Kuwaiti Citizenship Law No. 15/1959.

Hearing adjourned: The Criminal Court has adjourned to May 24, the case filed against former MP Musallam Al-Barrak for allegedly making offensive remarks against the judicial authority.

Security chief threatened: A reckless driver attempted to run over Director of Ahmadi Security Command Brigadier Abdullah Saffah, says Al-Seyassah.

According to a security source, Saffah was manning a checkpoint in Ali Sabah Al-Salem when the reckless driver decided to speed off after the officer asked him to present his identification documents. The source added that the driver attempted to run over Saffah as he sped off, but he was arrested after a hot pursuit. Luckily, Saffah was not injured.

Car fire probed: Fire engulfed a vehicle on Salmi Road. No injuries were reported but material losses were incurred, says Al-Seyassah. According to sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information about the vehicle on fire, firefighters rushed to the location with securitymen and paramedics. They extinguished the fire and launched investigations to determine the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, fire broke out among a pile of wood which eventually spread to some trees in a farm in Sulaibiya area. Firefighters extinguished the fire and carried out investigations to discover that an unknown individual intentionally set the wood pile on fire. Securitymen took necessary action.  In addition, fire engulfed a garbage pile behind Qairawan Medical Center. Firefighters extinguished it before it spread further.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud - Al-Seyassah Staff