Kuwaiti protesters run for cover during an anti-government demonstration in Kuwait City on October 21, 2012.
Kuwaiti police have clashed with tens of thousands of people protesting against changes to the electoral law, which the opposition has called a constitutional coup by the government.
On Sunday night, the police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, stun grenades, and used batons to disperse the opposition protesters in various parts of the capital, Kuwait City, leaving more than 100 wounded.
"The number of wounded protesters in hospital has exceeded 100 after riot police attacked them," director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights Mohammad al-Humaidi said.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry said in a statement that 11 police officers were also injured after demonstrators threw rocks at them.
Medical sources also said that dozens of protesters had been hospitalized, most of them suffering from tear gas inhalation or from baton bruises.
Opposition activists said they saw many protesters lying on the ground apparently after inhaling tear gas.
Former MP Abdullah al-Barghash also stated that he saw several injured protesters being taken to hospital in ambulances.
According to Barghash and other activists, more than 100,000 people attended Sunday’s demonstration, making it one of Kuwait’s biggest demonstrations.
"The way demonstrators were dealt with is unprecedented in Kuwait," he said.
The opposition called for the demonstration after the government announced last week it was holding elections on December 1 and would change the electoral law "to preserve national unity".
Activists say a decision to change the electoral law by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah is aimed at electing a rubber-stamp parliament.
Kuwait was the first Arab state in the Persian Gulf to establish an elected parliament in 1962. However, the Al Sabah family remained in control of most key posts, including the premiership and the ministries of defense, interior, and foreign affairs.
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