(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY Jan 29 (Agencies): Law enforcers are gearing up for putting into effect the much overdue unlicensed firearms and ammunition law which was passed by the parliament this week. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chaired Thursday a meet-ing for the Interior Ministry leaders to review and put the final touches on the security plans to enforce the law the Ministry's Security Media Department said in a press statement.
The Ministry has prepared a water-tight deployment plan to search for and bring to justice possessors of unlicensed firearms or ammunition in any part of the country Sheikh Mohammad said. He stated that the Ministry also is embarking on a nationwide media campaign to persuade those with unlawful weapons in their possession to hand them in to authorities before the end of the fourmonth grace period.
The Minister stressed that law enforcers will show due respect to the society traditions and the Islamic teachings during the inspection raids. He noted that female officers will participate in the raids on Kuwaiti citizens' homes to inspect women's areas. He underlined that the law aims to boost Kuwait's security and to fight the growing crimes.
The National Assembly voted into a law the unlicensed firearms and ammunition collection bill in its regular session on Tuesday. The law stipulates that anyone possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition could be jailed for five years and be fined by up to KD 10000 or one of the two penalties. It also increases the jail time to ten years and the upper limits of the fine to KD 50000 for anyone who deals (ie buying or selling) in unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The law allows police after taking proper authorization from the public prosecutor to search any public location and private or public vehicles if there was cause to believe the existence of unlicensed or unlawful firearms or ammunition. It also stipulates that people with unlicensed firearms and ammunition who choose to hand them in to authorities would be exempted from punishment. Such people have four months from the time this law is in effect to hand in their unlicensed weapons to be considered for exemption.
Meanwhile the Interior Minister congratulated His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah on the ninth anniversary of his assumption of power. He wished His Highness the Amir everlasting wellbeing and Kuwait much security and stability under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Sabah.
Meanwhile Kuwait authorities have detained several online activists allegedly for comments deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah activists said Thursday. Secret police late Wednesday arrested online activist Mohammad al-Ajmi outside his home for 'unknown reasons' the National Committee for Monitoring Violations an independent rights group of which Ajmi is a member said on its Twitter account. Online activists and former MPs said on Twitter that Ajmi was being held for questioning over Tweets he made on Saudi Arabia.
Nawaf al-Hendal a leading rights activist said at least four others had been detained by state security for tweets deemed offensive to King Abdullah who died on Friday. Hendal currently in Geneva for a UN rights meeting also said on his Twitter account that arrest warrants have been issued against him and five other tweeters for the same reason. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights an independent body said Hendal was being 'targeted in order to intimidate him and others from working as defenders of human rights.' There was no word on the arrests from the interior ministry and the public prosecutor has not announced any charges.
Human Rights Watch said in its World Report released Thursday that the Kuwaiti government aggressively targeted free speech throughout 2014. Kuwait used provisions in the constitution the national security law and other legislation to stifle political dissent the New York-based group said.
The authorities stripped 33 Kuwaitis of their nationality including three apparently singled out because they represented opposition voices it said. Last week Kuwait's appeals court lengthened a two-year term to five years in jail against activist Abdulaziz Jarallah al- Mutairi for allegedly insulting the Amir on Twitter according to the written verdict. Alower court meanwhile sentenced six stateless men to one year in jail to be followed by deportation for allegedly taking part in an unlicenced gathering and assaulting police.
The court asked five of them to pay $700 each to suspend the jail term but refused to extend the exemption to the sixth leading stateless rights activist Abdulhakim al-Fadhli. Both rulings can be challenged. Kuwait has cracked down on activists for making comments seen as critical of the oil-rich state's ruler and other Arab leaders especially in the Gulf. Former liberal MP Saleh al-Mulla was detained for five days earlier this month for tweets deemed offensive to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi during a visit to Kuwait. He is to stand trial on Feb 15.
And Shiite MP Abdulhameed Dashti is facing trial for criticising Bahrain leaders while former Islamist MP Mubarak al- Duwailah was questioned over comments critical of Abu Dhabi's rulers. Since a political crisis in June 2012 Kuwaiti authorities have ramped up efforts to curtail dissent. Courts have sentenced politicians online activists and journalists to prison terms for exercising free speech rights HRWsaid earlier this month.
In other news a Kuwaiti defense lawyer says an appeals court has upheld a ruling against a Twitter user and ordered him jailed for five years over comments he posted online deemed insulting to the ruler of the Gulf nation. Attorney Fahad al-Harbi said Thursday that the court determined that Abdulaziz al-Mutairi had insulted the country's hereditary Amir in comments made on the social media platform. He says the tweets were made in 2012.
Al-Harbi says his client will continue to contest the ruling through the courts. Kuwait has the most freewheeling political scene among the oil-rich Gulf Arab states but insulting the Amir remains illegal. The country has brought charges against several people in recent years over social media posts deemed offensive by authorities.
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