The court held its hearing amid extremely tight security measures rarely seen at the Palace of Justice in Kuwait City as hundreds of special forces backed by armoured vehicles were deployed around the court complex.
Security men blocked all entrances to the Palace of Justice and allowed those concerned to enter the building, checking their identity cards.
They completely sealed off the sixth floor where the court room is located, preventing most people from entering including journalists.
But a number of people managed to enter including a team from Human Rights Watch, which has criticized the ruling against Barrak, and several other activists and former opposition MPs.
Barrak arrived at the palace of Justice early in the morning along with a few of his supporters and some of his defense team and went straight to the court room without any attempt by the police to arrest him.
The former lawmaker was last week sentenced to five years in jail for allegedly making remarks at a public rally on October 15 that were deemed offensive to HH the Amir. He immediately appealed the ruling.
Judge Anwar Al-Enezi began the session by calling the name of Barrak and then told him that he is accused of insulting HH the Amir and undermining his authorities. Barrak categorically denied the charge.
Barrak did not show any regrets for making the remarks by saying that if time goes back, he would repeat the same speech, telling the judge that all he wanted is a fair trial.
The judge then allowed four of the 35 lawyers who volunteered to defend Barrak to make their arguments. They were Mohammad Al-Jassem, Dokhi Al-Hasban, Waleed Al-Jari and Thamer Al-Jadaei.
Jassem highlighted a number of verdicts which clearly indicated that the lower court verdict was null and void. He also claimed that the special forces were planning to assassinate Barrak when they raided his Diwaniya last Wednesday.
Hasban told the court that the lower court did not follow the proper procedures because it issued its verdict even after the defense team had walked out, adding that the defendant should not be made to pay for that mistake.
All the lawyers demanded that Barrak be set free against any bail until his case has been reviewed by the appeals court and the judge obliged.
Dozens of opposition activists who waited outside the Palace of Justice began singing and dancing when they heard about the decision and chanted, “Barrak you are the conscience of the whole nation”.
As soon as he came out of the gate, they carried him and repeated the slogans. Barrak considered the decision of the court as a victory for the people and the “protest movement” and an indication that the “puppet National Assembly will go”. He invited the people to his Diwaniya to celebrate the occasion later in the night.
In a related development, Kuwait Lawyers Association decided yesterday to go on strike tomorrow in protest against the interior and justice ministry for the mistreatment at the Palace of Justice yesterday.
The decision came after an extraordinary meeting by the association board following what they claimed harassment of lawyers at the Palace of Justice because of Barrak’s trial.
