"A SYDNEY mother is in a Kuwait prison cell after a bizarre incident at the country's international airport.

Nasrah Alshamery, 43, is facing the archaic charge of insulting the nation's ruling Emir after rowing with airport security officers over Saddam Hussein versus John Howard and George W. Bush.

"My mother didn't even name the Emir. She doesn't know who he is," her distraught daughter Wasa Alshamery, 21, said yesterday. "One of the police said something like, 'Saddam Hussein, he made you (look) human'. My mother said 'Thanks to George Bush and John Howard, they gave you the freedom'."

Under Kuwaiti law, the Emir - Sheik Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah - does not have to be mentioned by name and under Article 25 of Kuwait's constitution, the offence carries a five-year jail term.

The Department of Foreign Affairs last night confirmed an Australian woman had been denied bail while being investigated for insulting the Emir. She will reapply for bail on January 21.

Her sons, Abdulaziz, 22, and Abdulrahman, 18, have been freed on bail but cannot leave Kuwait after being charged with assaulting government officials on December 23.

The row occurred when Mrs Alshamery, her husband Solomon, 43, six sons and daughter flew into Kuwait from Syria as part of their return to their homeland, which they left 10 years ago..........."


http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24905605-952,00.html



For beginners, she is not an aussie mum. She is a Kuwaitian, who lives in sydney.
You think she would have more common sense than to go back there and argue with "authorities".  Troublemaker.

I heard on the radio she demanded her rights - hahahahhahahaha
In a muslim country !! You have the right to be jailed and beaten.

Yes she should have known better.  I heard one of her sons this morning and his accent was very thick, so they may not have been in Australia for very long.

We expect others to adapt to our values and customs, although we have a freedom here to state almost anything we believe in, but when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Even as a born and bred Aussie - I would have shown them respect and been cautious, regardless of them trampling on an Australian symbol.  Shows how much we are loved overseas.

The story in the Courier mail is different to the one her son told on radio.

Also, its bs that we give all these passports and then call them 'Aussies'.

In my ideal state - I'd bring in the 'Citizenship Revocation Act'.

Get everyone made a citizen between a certain period to swear allegiance to a secular state and the separation of church and state, and loyalty to Australia and its people and their defence above persons of any other faith or country. Anyone who refused, snip snip on the ol passport.

calenan - that'ld be a fair request for aussie citizenship.

That's what I would expect of every citizen of Aussie

Calanen wrote on Jan 13^th, 2009 at 9:47am:

Although it would be hard to expect them to defend Australia from persons of any other faith, given a secular state does not recognise any religion as established.

Quote:


Not in this state, but in other warring states, that we may war against - they do.

That you will not have loyalty to an enemy that is of a particular religion over and above your loyalty to Australia and its defence.

It sounds more comical than threatening. The best thing to do in that situation is to get out a pen and start writing stuff down, starting with their names.

the tale continues ...........


"...Wasa Alshamery said the family was on its first holiday in a decade, when an airport guard shouted at her 12-year-old brother.

When her father, Soliman, told the officer to be polite, he was assaulted, she said. "He pushed my dad and my dad fell on the ground," Ms Alshamery said.

"The other security came running and punched my dad in his head."

At this point her six brothers became involved and the family was soon surrounded by 35 police and airport guards.

Ms Alshamery said when her mother threatened to seek diplomatic assistance, the security officers laughed and proceeded to insult Australian women, the Australian government and the nation's soccer team.

"(A guard) threw her passport on the ground and he stepped on it and he goes, 'Who's going to help you now? The emu or the kangaroo?'," she said.

Ms Alshamery said the family was taken to a nearby police station where her mother and two brothers were jailed.

The rest of the family were forced to wait in a holding room for days without food or water before being allowed to leave the country.

Nasrah Alshamery was denied bail and will reapply on January 21.

Her sons, Abdulaziz, 22, and Abdulrahman, 18, have been freed on bail but cannot leave Kuwait after being charged with assaulting government officials.

Another of her adult sons, Ahmad, said his mother's condition had deteriorated since her detention. "We heard she's not eating or drinking from the jail and she's really, really sick," he told Sky News on Tuesday.

"She needs a lot of help."

Mr Smith said consular officials were doing all they could to help the family.

"We have been providing consular assistance to those Australians including visits to the places where they were detained," he said.

"We have also ensured, in accordance with our usual processes, they have access to legal advice; we've also been giving and rendering consular assistance to the family members in Australia."


http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24909234-954,00.html