Top Court Jails Bedoon Activist for Protesting
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SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2016 SHAABAN 10, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net New traffic World powers ‘Soviet chic’ Lowry stars as patrol cars ready to arm restaurant Raptors down hit the Libya in fight favored by KGB Miami to road today5 against IS7 spies40 reopens make20 history Top court jails bedoon Min 25º Max 42º activist for protesting High Tide 09:22 & 21:18 Low Tide Comoros ready to take Kuwait’s stateless people 02:50 & 15:31 40 PAGES NO: 16876 150 FILS By B Izzak conspiracy theories KUWAIT: The court of cassation, the top court in the country whose rulings are final, yesterday rejected an Save these children appeal by prominent bedoon (stateless) activist Abdulhakeem Al-Fadhli and five others and upheld a one-year jail term against them to be followed with deportation. Fadhli and others, including his younger brother Ahmad, were convicted of taking part in illegal protests, defying orders and assaulting police. By Badrya Darwish He and the other five activists were arrested during a peaceful gathering by bedoons over two years ago to demand the right to Kuwaiti citizenship and other human rights. The lower court sentenced them to one year in jail, and the sentence was confirmed by the [email protected] appeals court. Police arrested Fadhli last month and he has since been in jail awaiting the cassation court’s ruling. There are an estimated 110,000 bedoons in Kuwait who claim they or their forefathers had been illegally read an article a few days ago written by Reem denied their natural right to Kuwaiti citizenship. The Al-Lougayan. She touched on a key topic, and I government says many of them do not qualify for citi- Ishare her concern. Reem wrote about the phe- zenship after they or their ancestors destroyed their nomenon of fake beggars plaguing the streets of original identification documents to seek Kuwaiti citi- Kuwait. She said that a few men show up at traffic zenship and the many benefits associated with it. lights in cleaners’ uniforms with brooms and dust- Although the court ordered their deportation after the pans pretending to be street sweepers. But in fact jail term, bedoons cannot be deported because they do they are begging. The funny thing is that these not hold any nationality and thus other countries do ‘cleaners’ are showing up at night! not take them. I would like to add to the worries. There are Meanwhile, the African island nation of the Comoros dozens of young children begging at traffic lights, KUWAIT: Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan (second left) is seen with officials, jury has said it is ready to consider taking Kuwait’s bedoons, in front of co-ops and everywhere in Kuwait. If you newspapers reported yesterday. “If the issue is raised drive down Damascus Street, which is my route to members and winners of the Kuwait Times student art competition ‘Kuwait Beautiful & Green’ during the awards ceremony on Sunday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Pages 37-39) officially, we are ready to discuss it,” visiting Comorian the paper, the same boy can be found standing Continued on Page 13 there selling cheap toys like Star Wars light sabers and pet fish. He has been there for years. I remem- ber him as a small kid, but now he’s a grown young man and he’s still begging at this traffic light. The scorching heat of the sun or the hail and thunder of Trump warns of bad ties with Cameron the winter doesn’t stop him. He must have a partner because he works the morning shift and later in the LONDON: Donald Trump warned yesterday he may end he said on May 5 that anyone who comes through the wants to talk about’.” Trump also blasted the new night, I find another boy there - as if they are doc- up having a bad relationship with British Prime Minister US presidential primaries deserves “respect”. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim elected to tors in a hospital working in shifts. David Cameron, who branded the presumptive Cameron’s spokesman told reporters yesterday: “The run a Western capital city. Khan, who took office on May May I know where is the Ministry of Interior? I’m Republican presidential nominee’s proposal to stop PM has made his views on Donald Trump’s comments 9, has branded Trump “ignorant” on Islam and claimed sure we have enough police and enough patrol cars Muslim immigration to the US “stupid”. “It looks like we very clear: he disagrees with them.” But he added: “He’s the tycoon was making the world more dangerous to catch beggars. My friend tells me she sees the are not going to have a very good relationship,” Trump been clear that he will work with whoever is president of by alienating mainstream Muslims. Trump said he was same thing in Salwa. Just down the police station in told Britain’s ITV television. “Who knows, I hope to have a the United States.” Trump insisted he was “not stupid... offended by Khan’s denouncement. “I think they were front of the school by the co-op, a young boy not good relationship with him but he’s not willing to just the opposite”, and denied he was divisive, calling very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will more than 10 years old sits almost daily “selling” address the problem either.” himself “a unifier”. remember those statements. They are very nasty state- watermelon. Why isn’t he in school? In December, Trump called for a “total and complete He told ITV his campaign trail policies were just “sug- ments,” Trump said. “When he won I wished him well. This is what’s worrying us. It’s not whether they shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until gestions”, but said there was a “tremendous” problem Now, I don’t care about him. Let’s see how he does, let’s beg or not. We are not against beggars. Don’t mis- our country’s representatives can figure out what is with Islamic extremism. The tycoon rejected claims he see if he’s a good mayor.” A spokesman for Khan yester- understand me. I have a soft heart. But why aren’t going on”, citing “great hatred towards Americans by was anti-Muslim. “Absolutely not. I am anti-terror,” he day again described Trump’s views as “ignorant, divi- these beggar children in school? And I have a feel- large segments of the Muslim population”. Cameron said. Trump said he had “many Muslim friends”, one of sive and dangerous”. “It’s the politics of fear at its worst ing that it’s organized and someone is using and branded the tycoon’s stance as “divisive, stupid and whom told him: “‘Donald you have done us such a and will be rejected at the ballot box,” the spokesman abusing them. Because sometimes I see a car or a wrong” and has refused to retract his comments, though favor: you have brought out a problem that nobody said. — AFP truck with an adult man dropping off these children and later collecting them back. So what is this? It’s a gang, effectively. These boys may be innocent, but they are victims. Buffett takes $1bn I also worry for their safety and welfare as they stand at the traffic light until late in the night. What if someone tries to snatch these boys and abduct bite of Apple stock them for whatever purposes? They are too young to be responsible and left out in the street. I hope the NEW YORK: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is also willing to back one of interior ministry takes this issue up seriously and Buffett has taken a $1 billion stake in the bidders for troubled Internet pioneer helps these children find someplace safe. Apple, whose stock has been in an Yahoo, CNBC television reported yester- extended slump. The stake was revealed day. The report said Buffett had agreed to in a regulatory filing by Buffett’s holding work with Quicken Loans founder and News company Berkshire Hathaway after Apple chairman Dan Gilbert on a bid for the shares skidded last week to their lowest core assets of Yahoo, which has been in brief level in two years. The filing did not indi- evaluating the potential for a sale. Gilbert cate when Buffett purchased the shares is also known as the owner of the NBA’s Dubai airport transit or his reasons, but Buffett is renowned as Cleveland Cavaliers team. “I’m an enor- a “value” investor who takes mous admirer of Dan and what point for drugs traffic positions in firms which he has accomplished in ROME: Dubai airport has become a transit point for smug- trade below what he sees as Quicken Loans,” Buffett said in glers bringing high-value narcotics into Europe, the Italian their fair value. an email to CNBC. police said yesterday. Two smugglers have been arrested in The filing with the “Yahoo is not the type of recent days at Rome’s Fiumicino airport after arriving via CANNES: French-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani poses yesterday during a pho- Securities and Exchange Dubai, they said. One was an 19-year-old Slovak with two thing I’d ever be an equity tocall for the film ‘Paterson’ at the 69th Cannes Film Festival yesterday. — AFP kilos of cocaine stashed in a false bottom of his suitcase who Commission showed partner in. I don’t know the had departed from Rio de Janeiro, while the other was a Berkshire with a holding of business and wouldn’t know Nigerian who hid vials of cocaine in his socks.