On 8 July 2018, Kuwait’s highest judicial authority, the Court of Cassation, upheld the convictions of 16 opposition politicians, rights activists, and other demonstrators, including eight past or present members of parliament, on charges relating to their participation in a 2011 protest. Though the Court of Cassation’s judgment reduces a more severe ruling by the Court of Appeal last year, Amnesty International believes that the convictions are based on politically motivated charges which violate international standards of fair trial and the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
