In a statement issued on Thursday, Kuwaiti Interior Ministry said the country’s security forces would “firmly” quell any anti-government demonstrations, the Associated Press reported.
The statement came one day after security forces clashed with thousands of protestors demanding the release of former lawmaker and opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak, who is facing charges of insulting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah.
Following the clashes, which took place in front of a prison in Kuwait City, the opposition convened in an emergency meeting and condemned the Kuwaiti government’s "barbaric suppression" of peaceful protests.
The opposition warned that Kuwait is becoming a police state.
As recently as last week, Kuwait outlawed any gathering of more than 20 people in a bid to suppress opposition-led protests.
The opposition has called for demonstrations after the government announced last month that it was holding elections on December 1 and that it would change the electoral law "to preserve national unity". The opposition says it is boycotting the parliamentary elections.
Activists say a decision to change the electoral law by the Kuwaiti emir is aimed at electing a rubber-stamp parliament.
Kuwait was the first Arab state in the Persian Gulf to establish an elected parliament in 1962. However, the Al Sabah family remained in control of most key posts, including the premiership and the ministries of defense, interior, and foreign affairs.
