Kuwaiti police raided the house of Sheikh Athbi Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the Kuwait emir’s nephew and a former head of the secret service police, to find weapons and ammunitions used in assassination while he wasn’t found there.
The police raided Al-Fahad home after a court sentenced him for 5 years in prison over charges of insulting the emir, judges and spreading false news about Kuwait.
The police men who raided Sheikh Athbi’s home found a gun disguised as a pen in his home. The James Bond-style weapon, with what appeared to be a trigger in the pump of the pen, said the Interior Ministry.
The pen, found along with a Kalashnikov, a handgun and ammunition, made the front page across Kuwait on Tuesday, with Al-Rai calling it an “assassination device.”
It’s unclear why Sheikh Athbi would own such a weapon, though he once ran Kuwait’s National Security Office, the nation’s intelligence agency.
Political scandal includes “Royals”
Sheikh Athbi has been on the run since May 30, when prosecutors say he, two other ruling family members and four other individuals were found guilty in a plot to publish anonymous Twitter posts sharing fabricated videos of judges receiving bribes. He received a five-year prison sentence, which can be appealed, while other judges seeked making it up to 15 years.
The videos appear to be tied to a larger ongoing political scandal involving faked videos suggesting high-ranking officials were planning a coup. Prosecutors imposed a gag order on the case, and ruling family members have apologized on state television.
The case started when a lawer was arrested after joining an illegal protest and the police found information in his phone about a cell he was a part of that seeks publishing fake news and organise its work with a “Whatsapp group.”
The investigations led in the end to arresting Athbi Al-Fahad and other royals. The last findings in his home suggests that he may be planning for bigger moves after the first part via the social media was completed.
Kuwait’s once-assertive parliament has largely been taken over by pro-government lawmakers since Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011. Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, 86, serves as emir, and the monarchy controls all key government positions.
