LOC00:51
21:51 GMT
KUWAIT, May 3 (KUNA) -- Police raided Saturday night a Diwaniya in the
Sabah al-Nasser area within the Farwaniya governorate to enforce orders of the
Public Prosecutor to arrest a number of people there involved in organizing
illegal pre-election tribal primaries.
Those arrested were wisked off along with a ballot box to a secure location
as several thousands of people thronged around the Farwaniya police station
demanding the release of the persons arrested in the raid, a press statement
by the ministry of Interior said.
Some of the gathering crowd pelted the station with stones breaking the
glass in the front of building, while others ransacked it, said the statement.
Special forces trained to deal with unruly crowds were dispatched to the
scene to request those who forced their way into the police station to depart
immediately or force will be used against them. They were subsequently
persuaded to leave without an incident.
The ministry statement decried the role some election candidates had taken
in the way of inciting people to do the wrong thing for reasons to promote
their election campaigns.
On the other hand the ministry appreciated efforts by some tribal leaders
who helped authorities in breaking up the crowds at the police station.
The ministry statement affirmed that it would take all permissable legal
measures against those who took part in the attack on the police station, in
accordance with law no 12 for the year 2008 which beefed up punishment against
anyone attacking the police in the course of their carrying out their duties.
The law calls for a prison sentence of five years and a fine of no less that
KD 5000 against anybody who dares to physically harm the police or get in the
way of doing their job.
The ministry furthermore has distributed to the press pictures showing the
ballot box used at the Diwaniya and a number of personal documents used by the
persons arrested there. (end)
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