Kuwait court expels harsh government critic from parliament

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait’s constitutional court has ordered the country’s most outspoken opposition lawmaker expelled from parliament. The move Sunday inflamed tensions between the government and legislature, revealing the limits of political freedom in the Gulf state. The court nullified Bader al-Dahoum’s membership in the currently suspended parliament, citing an old conviction for insulting the late emir. The decision sparked instant fury among his fellow lawmakers, given that the country’s highest appeals court had since acquitted al-Dahoum on the defamation charges. Al-Dahoum has become notorious in Kuwait for his vociferous protests against the government. Discord between the country’s elected parliament, rare among Persian Gulf sheikhdoms, and emir-appointed Cabinet has recently intensified.