U.S. Ambassador Cautions Kuwait on Rights Abuses

The coalition that liberated Kuwait now expects the emirate to champion justice and fairness and to end human rights abuses, the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait said Saturday.

“Clearly, those individuals who broke Kuwaiti laws and were parties to Iraqi criminal actions should be prosecuted fairly and fully under the law,” said Ambassador Edward W. (Skip) Gnehm Jr. “But the innocent should not become new victims.”

As Gnehm delivered his most forceful public message to Kuwait’s government since liberation, a military tribunal was sentencing a stateless radar technician to death by hanging for collaborating with Iraqi authorities during the brutal seven-month occupation.

In proceedings that have been criticized by human rights officials, Mankhi Shimmeri, a former Kuwaiti air force sergeant, was convicted of joining the Iraqi-sponsored Popular Army and supplying information to the enemy. No witnesses were called to testify, and the defendant’s statements were the only evidence presented against him in open court.

Kuwaiti authorities are holding trials for more than 200 alleged collaborators. Meanwhile, rogue police and soldiers plus vigilantes reportedly continue to beat, detain and harass Palestinians, Iraqis and other non-Kuwaitis.

“I do not consider that (the abuses) have ended, but I do consider the government committed to trying to stop them. . . ,” Gnehm said. “It’s vitally important to Kuwait’s future that it does stop.”

In a speech to the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce, Gnehm added, “No matter how emotionally difficult it is, Kuwaitis must now champion justice and fairness for all people in Kuwait in the very same way the entire world stood for those principles for you. . . .

“The world that supported your liberation now anxiously observes how you approach and handle this very important task of supporting the basic tenets of human rights. You must not become a victim now of the very poison Saddam (Hussein) hoped he could spread.”

In an interview Saturday, Kuwait’s acting general prosecutor agreed. “I feel hurt about these cases,” said Hamed Othman. “What happened to us with the Iraqis was bad, and we don’t want this to happen to other people.”

Othman said that police officers accused of such abuses are already in jail and that he intends to bring them to trial.

He also said he was deeply disturbed by reports from human rights workers and Western journalists of the alleged murders of seven Palestinians, some of them in police custody. One case involved a 13-year-old boy, Iyad Rajah Aqrabawi, whose relatives claim he was tortured, then shot in the forehead.

But Othman said he cannot initiate an investigation unless relatives, human rights groups or other concerned citizens file a complaint. “Tell them to come forward,” he said. “They must complain to us. We will give (them) protection.”

Palestinians--who claim that hundreds of people have been abducted, arrested, beaten and even murdered by police or vigilantes since Kuwait was liberated--say they are terrified to come forward. Some have been threatened with retaliation if they speak out.

Although several Kuwaitis have been convicted of collaboration, the vast majority of the defendants who have appeared in court to date are Palestinians, Iraqis and bidoun, the latter stateless Arabs who have lived in Kuwait all their lives but are denied citizenship under restrictive Kuwaiti laws.

Shimmeri is one of many bidoun who served in the Kuwaiti army before Iraq’s Aug. 2 invasion. He claimed in court on May 25 that he registered his name for the Popular Army on Sept. 30 after hearing that any Kuwaiti military personnel who did not do so would be executed.

“I was afraid,” he said. “That’s why I registered my name.”

Presiding Judge Mohammed Ben Naji asked the defendant whether he had been threatened, and Shimmeri replied that he had not. The judge stated that the reported death penalty was no more than a rumor.

Shimmeri also testified that he was forced to go to a military camp in Imaran, Iraq, for training in December.

“The Iraqi occupation forces did not need Mankhi,” said his defense lawyer, Abdul Latif Seif. “He was more of a POW than a volunteer.”

However, when questioned by the judge, Shimmeri admitted that he had received a salary of 550 Iraqi dinars for his services and that during the allied air war he helped carry ammunition to Iraqi troops.

Under martial-law procedures, a defendant cannot appeal. All sentences must be approved by the crown prince, Sheik Saad al Abdullah al Sabah, who is also the martial-law governor. No execution date was set.

Two other defendants were sentenced to prison Saturday for collaboration.

Jasmiya Salman, an Iraqi woman accused of informing on a member of the Kuwaiti resistance, was given a 10-year term. Khaled Jamel Rashid, a Jordanian, was ordered to serve two years for theft and weapons offenses.