Forgery case against Kuwait Olympic official begins in Switzerland

The trial of the former President of Kuwait's Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah, began in the Swiss city of Geneva yesterday. He is accused of forgery in an alleged coup attempt in the Gulf state.

Agence France-Presse reported that Al-Sabah had appeared before the court along with three of the four other defendants; a Kuwaiti former aide and Geneva-based lawyers from Bulgaria and Ukraine.

The fifth defendant, an English lawyer, did not attend the court.

The defendants face charges related to arranging an arbitration case in Geneva in 2014 to document video evidence which had allegedly been tampered with.

The Geneva prosecutor accused Al-Sabah of being the key to organising a false hearing to create the impression that the footage circulating on social media was real.

If the video was proven to be authentic, then it would implicate the former Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Nasser Al-Sabah, in financial and political irregularities.

The former NOC president denies any wrongdoing. The hearing is slated to last seven days.