By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti man has died in a police station as a result of excessive torture, Kuwaiti M.P.’s charged Tuesday, and called on authorities to order a transparent investigation.

Opposition lawmaker Mussallam al-Barrak said in a statement the man was rushed to hospital early Tuesday in the southern oil town of Ahmadi from the city’s police station and was pronounced dead on arrival.
Barrak said the man had been severely beaten and “brutally tortured and a stick inserted into a sensitive part of his body.”

The lawmaker claimed the man arrived at hospital unconscious with his legs and hands tied.
Other M.P.s called on Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Khaled al-Sabah to launch an investigation into the incident and refer those responsible to the court.

“Killing under torture is a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of the constitution. We are awaiting for an official and transparent statement on the incident,” M.P. Hassan Jowhar said in a statement.
The Interior Ministry has so far remained silent on the issue.

The independent Kuwait Society for Human Rights named the victim as Mohammad al-Mutairi and called on the Interior Ministry to launch a probe.

A security source said the man had been in custody for three days on charges of trading in liquor. – A.F.P.