Hayef threatens ambassador with ICC over 'war crimes'

Controversy over the Syrian Ambassador to Kuwait's presence in the country continued yesterday, with Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef announcing his intention to file criminal charges against the envoy, whilst a foreign ministry undersecretary insisted that there are no immediate plans to expel him from the country. The concerns continue to rise as Hayef said in a statement that he has asked his legal team to cooperate with "victims of the ambassador" in Syria and Lebanon to file lawsuits against the dip lomat with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over his "war crimes. The lawmaker said the Syrian Ambassador, Major General Bassam Abdel Majid, had worked as a senior officer in Lebanon and was subsequently appointed to the interior minister's post in Syria between 2006 and 2009, accusing the envoy of taking part in criminal activities against Lebanese and Syrian victims. Hayef said that he is currently conducting research into the alleged crimes committed by the ambassador as a prelude to filing the cases. "This is the least assistance we can provide to our brothers," Hayef asserted. The lawmaker has been leading a campaign calling on the government to expel the ambassador over his role in the Syrian regime which has continued a bloody crackdown on protesters in the Arab country Foreign ministry undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah, meanwhile, said that Kuwait has no plans to expel the ambassador, stressing that the envoy will remain in the country in accordance with diplomatic agreements. The Syrian ambassador was among a number of foreign diplomats who yesterday attended a presentation delivered by the Foreign Ministry on the subject of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer mega-port, which has been generating increasing controversy in Iraq. A number of fellow Islamist MPs have condemned Hayef's earlier outburst in which he suggested that religious scholars should be consulted over whether or not the ambassador should be killed for his actions. The MPs expressed shock at Hayef's controversial suggestion, made during a protest outside the Syrian Embassy in Kuwait on Saturday, insisting that it does not represent the general opinion of Islamist politicians in Kuwait. Hayef first made the allegations of the envoy's involvement in war crimes the n ext day onhis Twitter account. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one Islamist parliamentarian complained that Hayef had gone too far, voicing a wish that he would retract his statements, which they warned "could be used by opponents of Islamist activities to accuse them of disrespecting the constitution and the state's laws." The anonymous MP called on Hayef to avoid "overreacting" to events, and to keep in mind the fact that Kuwait has signed diplomatic agreements which it is legally bound to follow. The parliamentarian also urged t he fellow MP to remember that nobody amongst antigovernment protesters has called for fighting Syrian ambassadors in other countries. Dr Mohammad Al-Tabtabaie, the former Dean of the Sharia Faculty at Kuwait University also condemned Hayef's "call for killing the ambassador or attacking embassies," stressing that harming people is prohibited in Sharia law. "How can a person condemn the killing in Syria then advocate the killing of the ambassador who is a Syrian citizen?" he asked. The chairman of Kuwait's Sharia Scholars' Conference supported Al-Tabtabaie's view, stressing that attacking the ambassadors of other nations is "strictly prohibited" under Sharia law due to the fact that they are under the protection of the country which they are sent to. In a related development, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has warned expatriates not to take part in any demonstrations in the country, reminding them that doing so is illegal for non-Kuwaitis and threatening to penalize any expatriate violating this legislation to the fullest extent of the law. The warning came after a few Syrians took part in two protests against the Syrian regime on Friday. Although several of the Syrian protesters were arrested, the ministry decided against deporting them for humanitarian reasons. MP Faisal Al-Muslim praised the interior ministry's decision not to deport the Syrian protesters, fellow lawmaker Mubarak Al-Khurainej objected to it, insisting that the ministry should prosecute the protesters and apply the law equally to all those who break Kuwait's laws. The head of the parliamentary interior and defense committee MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, meanwhile, called on the MoI to be cautious since some individuals might attempt to exploit regional events in order to stir up domestic unrest and create problems in Kuwait. In other news, the parliamentary education committee is expected to hold an important meeting with the education minister today to discuss the problem of the 6,000 university applicants who failed to be awarded places by Kuwait University despite meeting all the necessary qualifying criteria. More than 33 MPs have signed a request to hold an emergency parliamentary session on August 15 to talk about the problem, which was discussed by the Kuwaiti cabinet yesterday. On a separate political issue, anti-government MP Musallam Al-Barrak has strongly condemned the government's decision to appoint a chairman for the credit and savings bank from outside the bank, saying that this violates the bank's governing regulations law by ignoring the deputy chairman Sayed Sandaouh Al-Dhafiri.