KUWAIT, Oct 16: Kuwaiti security forces detained at least five people, including the son of a prominent opposition figure, at an anti-government protest against possible changes to an election law, witnesses said on Tuesday.

Several people were hurt in skirmishes at the rally, attended by at least 5,000 people who defied a request by authorities to cancel Monday’s late evening demonstration.

In some of the strongest remarks by an opposition figure, former parliament member Musallam al-Barrak appealed directly to Kuwait’s leader to avoid “autocratic rule” in a speech to the crowd.

The son of Ahmed al-Saadoun, another prominent opposition leader and former parliament speaker, was among those detained during the protest near parliament, where several anti-government demonstrations have taken place in the past year. —Reuters