Musallam Al-Barrak
| Musallam Al-Barrak | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 30, 1956 |
| Nationality | Kuwait |
| Residence | Yarmouk, Kuwait City |
| Religion | Muslim – Sunni |
Musallam Al-Barrak (Arabic: مسلم محمد البراك) is a Kuwaiti politician. He was a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the fourth district.
Born in January 30, 1956, Al-Barrak studied Arab literature and worked in the Municipal Council before being elected to the National Assembly in 1996. Al-Barrak affiliates with the Popular Action Bloc. Al-Barrak had been elected for six consecutive terms, making him the longest-serving member of parliament.
Al-Barrak was a member of the opposition parliamentary group Popular Action Bloc. In the 2006 parliamentary election, he won re-election with over 8,000 votes, the highest total in the election and an all-time record. In the February 2012 parliamentary election, Al-Barrak set a national record for the highest votes received in Kuwait elections history more than 30.000 votes.
In 2011 and 2012, Al-Barrak played a significant role in protests. In April 2012, he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity by the National Assembly for participating in the storming of the parliament building by protesters. In October 2012, Al-Barrak made a speech in which he broke with Kuwaiti precedent by saying that "we will not allow you (Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah) to rule individually..." He was arrested on 29 October for undermining the Emir and released on bail four days later. On 15 April 2013, he was sentenced to two years in prison.
In May 2003, Al-Barrak spoke against visiting Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, criticizing him for opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq. Holding an egg, he said: "This is what you are worth Hariri,... a rotten egg from the Kuwaiti people".
Along with other Popular Action Bloc MPs, he criticized the government's Project Kuwait, which proposed international development of northern oil fields; Al-Barrak stated that they should be developed by a Kuwaiti company. In 2006, he and fellow MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun questioned the government's cancellation of several contracts, and began meeting with the Audit Bureau. Also in 2006, he and Mohammed Al-Sager led the opposition to Minister of Information Mohammed Al-Sanousi's re-appointment, due to the limits they said he had placed on freedom of the press. Al-Sanousi resigned on 17 December 2006, one day before he was due to be grilled by parliament. Al-Barrak suggested Al-Sanousi had been forced to quit, calling it "a victory for the constitution, democracy and freedom".
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