Kuwait frees parliament protesters on KD1,000 bail

Kuwait frees parliament protesters on KD1,000 bail

Kuwait's public prosecutor on Thursday ordered the release on bail of the remaining 24 protesters held over the storming the Gulf Arab state's parliament last month, one of their lawyers said.
Thirty two people had been detained after protesters forced their way into the parliament chambers in November demanding that Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah quit over allegations of corruption, which he denies.
"The public prosecution office ordered their release on a bail of KD1,000 ($3,600) each," said lawyer Faisal al-Thufairy.
Eight of those held have already been freed on bail.

Sheikh Nasser and his government resigned on Monday, bowing to escalating demands by protesters and opposition deputies that he step down.
Kuwait's emir named outgoing Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah as new prime minister, and asked him to form a government.
It was not clear whether those freed on bail would still be prosecuted. Thufairy said he wanted the legal proceedings to remain in place.
"I'm against the idea of them getting pardoned, because we as lawyers want to prove that they are not guilty... Pardoning them does not erase the alleged crime," he said.
The storming of parliament followed a request filed by a group of lawmakers to question the prime minister. The request was blocked by the cabinet in a move decried as unconstitutional by the opposition.