Insult woman 'defending family'

Source: Agencies  |   2009-1-14  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

AN Australian woman held in Kuwait for allegedly insulting the oil-rich Gulf state's ruler was defending her family in a melee with airport security guards, her lawyer said yesterday.

Nasrah Alshamery, a 43-year-old Australian, was detained on December 23 shortly after she arrived at Kuwait International Airport where she engaged in a shouting match with an airport official and screamed obscenities which including insults at the emir. If convicted, she could face three to five years in jail, according to lawyer Salah al-Hajraf. But no charges have yet been raised.

"Does she know the emir? Did she intend to insult him? No," the lawyer said. "She was just in hysterics after a misunderstanding got out of hand and turned into a melee," he said.

In Sydney, Alshamery's daughter, Wasa Alshamery, 21, said the trouble began when a security guard shouted at her 12-year-old brother when he asked where the family could get a visa. Their father Soliman asked the guard to please speak with respect, after which he was attacked, she said.

Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said consular officials were doing everything they could to help the family.