Kuwait information minister refers officials to public prosecution over missing relics

Kuwait: Kuwait’s Minister of Information, Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi has referred a number of officials and former leaders in the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters to the public prosecution over disappearance of artifacts and relics from Kuwait National Museum.

Issa Al-Ansari, the council acting secretary general, said in a statement on Wednesday that the prosecution reported back to the minister, requesting a probe “in case there was a crime,” thus the minister formed a panel to conduct broad investigation into the case.

He added that the panel affirmed in a report that there was “criminal suspicion falling in the category of public funds protection crimes,” thus the case was referred to the public prosecution. Moreover, the panel concluded that there was “administrative responsibility and criminal suspicion with respect of negligence and slack by leaders, leading to the disappearance of 19 relics.” Al-Ansari added that the panel report noted that “there had been lack of transparency and governance for managing the antiquities and the museums in an explicit irregularity.” He affirmed the minister’s keenness on “revealing the truth and enforcing the law on the complacent personnel in this crucial issue concerning the state heritage and relics.” In line with the minister’s directions, the council is upgrading policies according to accredited international covenants and treaties for protecting treasures, he said, adding that Kuwaiti cadres from the museum were being trained on how to receive, handle and s
tore relics and develop programs keeping information about each item.

Moreover, the council is also creating adequate places for keeping the treasures that are also part of the national and human heritages.

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