Over Half of Kuwaiti MPs Resign

Photo Credit: EPA/Raed Qutena

Over half of the members of Kuwait’s reinstated former parliament have resigned in protest of a court decision invalidating an Islamist election victory. Political scientist Abdullah al-Shayji believed the best option for the government would be “to restore the parliament as ordered by the constitutional court and then go ahead and suspend it again and call for fresh elections.”

In Bahrain, a 58-year-old doctor sentenced to a year in prison in connection with anti-government protests has undertaken a hunger strike, with the goal of attracting international attention and getting his sentence thrown out. Saeed al-Samaheeji said “we are doctors, not criminals, and we were trying to save lives, and these sentences are political convictions. … We are innocent.” Regarding Saudi Arabia’s proposed union with Bahrain, Geneive Abdo argues that such a move would only increase divisions between Sunnis and Shiites in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, a man in Saudi Arabia was executed this week for practicing “witchcraft” and committing adultery. Also, two Egyptians, a brother and sister, were beheaded for kidnapping a young girl from the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina and torturing her for over three years. Rosie Bsheer conducts a lengthy interview with the organizers of the Eastern Province Revolution Twitter/Facebook page, in which the Saudi activists talk about their history, aims, and strategies.

An editorial in The Economist contends that Oman will not go unscathed by the Arab Spring, and the issue of succession after Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said and the transition to a post-oil economy are the two major problems Oman will face in the near future.