Kuwaitis sued for denouncing Saudi scholars

Author: 
Arab News
Publication Date: 
Fri, 2011-05-27 02:27

Al-Mitairi said Abdullah Bin Baz, the son of the late sheikh, has retained him and asked him to file the lawsuit and to see that justice is done.
Speaking to the newspaper by telephone from Kuwait, Al-Mitairi said the lawsuit he filed Tuesday against Kuwaiti lawyer Khaled Al-Shatti and businessman Mahmoud Haidar was accepted and the two would appear before court. He said that Shatti leveled false allegations against Sheikh Bin Baz and Sheikh Abdul Wahab when talking to the Al-Adalah satellite channel on March 22. He said the electronic media owned by Haidar also carried Shatti’s statements.
"Shatti and Haidar not only verbally attacked the two Saudi Sheikhs but also accused their dawa (guidance) method of encouraging terrorism," Al-Mitairi said.
He said he filed the complaint according to the Kuwaiti law on audio-visual media. He is now asking the court to punish the two defendants for moral and material damages they have done not only to the two Saudi sheikhs but to millions of Muslims who respect and cherish them.
'We have started extensive moves from the moment Shatti uttered his false accusations against Sheikh Bin Baz and Sheikh Abdul Wahab which were strongly denounced in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia," he said.
"The case is a an example of the misuse of press freedom," he said welcoming all Muslim lawyers who would be interested to join him in his attempt to bring these two to justice.
He said he had asked for civil compensation and for public apology from the two defendants not only to the sons and inheritors of Sheikh Bin Baz but to the entire Muslim nation.
Al-Mitairi said Shatti's false allegations against the two renowned Saudi sheikhs could spread dissension and sedition in Muslim society and ignite sectarian disputes.
He said the campaign by Shatti and Haidar against the two Saudi religious symbols emanated from their anger against the intervention of the Arabian Peninsula Shield Forces in Bahrain under the security cooperation among GCC countries.
According to Al-Mitairi, punishments in such cases are usually fines and imprisonment or both. "It is enough for us if the two defendants were accused for the wrongdoing," he said. He expected the Kuwaiti government to make laws to protect the Muslim scholars and the religious symbols from attack and public criticism in media.
A number of Kuwaiti writers, columnists and media men have strongly denounced the false allegations against the two Saudi religious symbols and called for bringing the attackers to justice.

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