Musallam Al-Barrak sentenced to five years in jail

A Kuwait court sentenced prominent opposition politician Musallam Al-Barrak to five years in prison on 15 April for insulting Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, but later granted him bail pending a further hearing in May. The former MP’s sentencing prompted large demonstrations, and fears of further instability. The interior ministry said that, at one protest on 17 April, shots were fired into the air and several officers needed hospital treatment.