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www.kuwaittimes.net
RABI ALTHANI 13, 1436 AH
MoI denies midnight
shop closure reports
40 PAGES
NO: 16421
150 FILS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015
Min 10º
Max 25º
High Tide
12:14 & 22:44
Low Tide
05:52 & 17:18
Municipality says proposal still being studied
By Nawara Fattahova and Agencies
Egypt, Gulf security closely linked
KUWAIT: Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab (left) is received by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (center) at Bayan Palace yesterday in the presence of HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Visiting Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim
Mahlab said yesterday the security of Kuwait and the
Gulf is part of Egypt’s security. Mahlab made the
remarks following a meeting with National Assembly
Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, saying his meeting
focused on economic and political situations and terrorism. He said that Egypt and Kuwait have a common
fate and a unified strategic vision, noting that the
meeting tackled the political vision and Egypt’s
roadmap, as well as preparations for an international
economic conference slated for mid-March in Egypt’s
News
i n
b r i e f
Sharm El-Sheikh. The premier stated that Egypt is facing “brutal terrorism”, stressing that the country is continuing combating it and defending the region and the
whole world, while going ahead with the process of
construction in the country.
Head of the National Assembly’s budgets committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said the Egyptian delegation detailed Egypt’s requirements of petroleum products, adding the mechanism of supplying Egypt with
these products will be reviewed.
Mahlab was earlier received by HH the Amir Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace in
the presence of HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister
Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Relations
between the two countries, several issues of common
interest and the latest developments on regional and
international arenas were the focus of the meeting.
Mahlab arrived in Kuwait yesterday on a three-day visit
heading an economic delegation at the invitation of
the prime minister. Mahlab later met several senior officials. — Agencies
Egypt ‘showman’ tells
world it’s safe to visit
PAGE
KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry yesterday categorically
denied reports on various media regarding the ministry’s intention to close restaurants, shops and cafes by
midnight on weekdays and at 1:00 am on weekends
and public holidays. The security media department, in
a statement, denied issuing such a decision, saying the
reports were “baseless”. The statement added that if a
decision is issued, the ministry will issue a clear statement detailing any actions it will take within its jurisdictions.
Yesterday’s clarification came after the report caused
much consternation and discussion in Kuwait. The
Interior Ministry also took to the airwaves to distance
itself from the proposal. In a live call with a local radio
station, Brig Adel Al-Hashash, Director of the Interior
Ministry ’s Public Relations and Moral Guidance
Department and Acting Director of the Security Media
Department, noted that the ministry is not in charge of
closing businesses, as there are other public institutions
in charge such as the Ministry of Commerce and the
Municipality.
Meanwhile, Municipality officials announced at a
press conference yesterday that they are studying the
issue but no final decision has been taken on its implementation. Technically, the Municipality has the power
to set the closing times of businesses. “During our meeting with Assistant Undersecretary for Public Security at
the Ministry of Interior Maj Gen Abdulfatah Al-Ali last
week, we discussed the issue of closing all commercial
activities in residential, commercial, investment and
industrial areas. But no decision has been taken yet. The
entire issue is still under study,” General Director of the
Municipality Ahmad Al-Subaih told reporters.
According to him, this decision was first issued in
2004 and was not applied for more than a few days.
“Abdulfatah Al-Ali proposed to reapply this decision for
security reasons based on various complaints from the
public. The Municipality is responsible to set the working hours of various institutions, so we can make
changes in favor of the public and security. Ali will meet
with the directors of the municipal branches of all the
six governorates to discuss this issue,” added Subaih.
Continued on Page 13
Djokovic beats Murray
for 5th Australian title
PAGE
Saudi prince launches
pan-Arab news channel
MANAMA: Outspoken billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed
bin Talal yesterday launched a pan-Arab satellite news
channel aimed at challenging established networks in
the region. From a studio lit in green and white, the
Bahrain-based Alarab News Channel took to the air,
leading with a story about
Japanese hostage Kenji Goto,
whom the Islamic State extremist
group claimed in a video late
Saturday to have beheaded. It
then turned its focus on its own
backyard, looking at Bahrain’s
decision to strip the citizenship of
72 nationals. Notably, its guests
included prominent opposition
activist Khalil Al-Marzooq. Alarab
Prince Alwaleed is the latest player in the Arabiclanguage television market, after
Qatar-subsidised Al-Jazeera became the first regional
news broadcaster 19 years ago. It will also be a rival for
Dubai-based Al-Arabiya, established in 2003 and owned
by Sheikh Waleed Al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of Saudi
Arabia’s late King Fahd. Veteran Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, Alarab’s general manager, said the new
channel will be even-handed.
Saudi activist close
to blogger released
RIYADH: A woman who co-founded the Saudi
Liberal Network Internet discussion group with
blogging activist Raef Badawi has been freed after
about three months in prison, her daughter said
yesterday. Suad Al-Shammari had spent around 90
days at a women’s prison in the Red Sea city of
Jeddah, her daughter Sarah Al-Rimaly told AFP.
“She’s released now, thanks be to God,” Rimaly said.
She added that her mother was freed three days
ago after signing a pledge “to reduce her activities”.
She was arrested in late October for insulting Islam,
activists said at the time. Rimaly said her mother is
fine but has been “suffering from a lack of nutrients”
because she depends on a special diet. “She’s recovering now,” her daughter said. Shammari has said
the charges against Badawi were levelled after the
Saudi Liberal Network criticised clerics and the
kingdom’s notorious religious police, who have
been accused of a heavy-handed enforcement of
sharia law.
Horror in Japan as IS beheads hostage
Jordan still ready for swap to free pilot
Bedoon jailed
five years for
insulting Amir
Activists detained
By B Izzak
KUWAIT: The criminal court yesterday sentenced
stateless activist Abdullah Atallah Al-Enezi to five
years in jail with immediate implementation to be
followed by deportation. The sentence was issued
in absentia because the defendant did not appear
in court. Enezi was arrested about a year ago at a
demonstration of hundreds of stateless people, or
bedoons, demanding their rights including the
right to Kuwaiti citizenship. He was detained for
around three months before a judge freed him on
KD 500 bail.
Enezi was supposed to appear in court for his trial but he didn’t show up. His defense team pointed
out that it appears he had fled Kuwait to a Western
country, probably Canada, where he has sought
political asylum. The sentence can be challenged
only after Enezi arrives in Kuwait. The criminal court
also acquitted 36 bedoons from charges of taking
part in an unlicensed gathering in Jahra and for
assaulting police. The defendants had denied the
charges.
But a lower court on Thursday sentenced six
stateless men to one year in jail to be followed by
deportation for allegedly taking part in an unlicensed gathering and assaulting police. The court
asked five of them to pay each KD 200 to suspend
the jail term, but refused to extend the exemption
to the sixth defendant, leading stateless rights
activist Abdulhakim Al-Fadhli.
Continued on Page 13
TOKYO: Appalled and saddened by news of journalist
Kenji Goto’s purported beheading by Islamic State
extremists, Japan ordered heightened security precautions yesterday and said it would persist with its nonmilitary support for fighting terrorism. The failure to
save Goto raised fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter
pilot also held by the militant group that controls about
a third of both Syria and Iraq. Unlike some earlier messages delivered in the crisis, the video that circulated
online late Saturday purporting to show a militant
beheading Goto did not mention the pilot.
Jordan renewed an offer yesterday to swap an AlQaeda prisoner for the pilot, Lt Muath Al-Kaseasbeh,
who was seized after his F-16 crashed near the Islamic
State group’s de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria, in
December. Government spokesman Mohammed AlMomani told AP that “we are still ready to hand over”
Sajida Al-Rishawi, who faces death by hanging for her
role in triple hotel bombings in Jordan in 2005. Momani
also said his country spared no effort to free Goto.
Continued on Page 13
This image made from a video released by Islamic
State militants late Saturday purports to show a militant standing next to Japanese journalist Kenji
Goto before his beheading. — AP
Egypt deports jailed
Australian reporter
CAIRO: Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste
was released from a Cairo jail yesterday
and left Egypt for his native Australia
after 400 days in prison on charges that
included aiding a terrorist group, security
officials said. There was no official word
on the fate of his two Al Jazeera colleagues - Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed
Fahmy and Egyptian national Baher
Mohamed - who were also jailed in the
case that provoked an international outcry. The three were sentenced to seven
to 10 years on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organization - a
reference to the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood. One month ago, however,
a court ordered their retrial.
A security official said Fahmy was
expected to be released from Cairo’s Tora
prison within days. His fiancÈe said she
hoped he would be free soon and
deported to Canada. “His deportation is
in its final stages. We are hopeful,” Marwa
Omara told Reuters. Canada’s foreign
ministry welcomed what it called positive developments. “We remain very
hopeful that Mr.
Continued on Page 13
Peter Greste

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