Kuwaiti lawmakers ended a heated debate in parliament about Guantanamo Bay detainees on Wednesday in a brawl, with fists flying and profane language shouted, dpa reported
Security guards quickly intervened to push lawmakers away from one another after a handful of parliamentarians attacked and punched a colleague who called Kuwaitis detained in the US facility "terrorists."
As a result, around four members of parliament demanded that his microphone be shut off to prevent him from speaking, the state-run KUNA news agency reported.
Another member of parliament, Jamaan Herbish, responded by saying that Kuwaitis in Guantanamo Bay are subject to US bullying led by "Zionists."
He suggested that parliament should send letters to the White House and Congress urging the release of what he said were 60 Kuwaiti citizens being held in the detention centre.
The session on Guantanamo Bay was postponed to October 31, with the head of parliament and the prime minister issuing statements strongly condemning the outburst by some members.
"We hope that at our next meeting ... we will have learned a lesson from such events so that they are not repeated for the sake of the honour of the Kuwaiti people that gave us their confidence and to honour the legislative institution, which should be an example to those who elected us," the head of parliament, Gasem al-Kharafy, said.
US President Barack Obama signed a directive two days after his January 20, 2009 inauguration to shut down the controversial prison facility within a year.
But he has encountered opposition from Congress. There are over 170 detainees remaining on the US naval base in Cuba, many of whom have been there for 10 years without trial