By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Friday, January 21, 2011

KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti lawyer said Thursday that he plans to sue the interior minister after his client was allegedly subjected to severe torture at a police station.

“Next week, I will file a criminal lawsuit to the special ministers’ court against the interior minister after my client was tortured by police,” Osama al-Mounawer told AFP.

Mounawer’s client, Sayyah al-Rasheedi, was arrested along with Mohammad Ghazzai al-Moutairi, who was allegedly tortured to death on Jan. 11 at a local police station.

Rasheedi, currently serving a jail term on another case, became a prime witness in Moutairi’s case after telling the public prosecution he saw police torturing Moutairi, according to the lawyer.

Mounawer confirmed allegations in the local media that Rasheedi was himself tortured by police, who cut one of his nipples with a nail-cutter and put him naked in ice water.

“While in prison, my client was threatened by strange people who came from outside the jail and asked him to change his testimony,” the lawyer said.

Kuwait’s public prosecution is questioning six policemen after an Interior Ministry’s probe found them guilty of torturing Moutairi to death.

Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Khaled al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, submitted his resignation last week over the issue but the Cabinet asked him to remain in the post and follow up the case.
Opposition ministers hold the interior minister politically responsible for Moutairi’s death and warned they will file to question him in parliament next week if he does not quit. – AFP