clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Kuwait sentences journalist to 7 years in prison for insulting Qatar

January 8, 2018 at 11:07 am

Kuwaiti journalist, Fouad Al-Hashem [Ali Fouldakar/YouTube]

A Kuwaiti court yesterday sentenced writer Fouad Al-Hashem to seven years, charging him with insulting the State of Qatar.

Authorities filed a lawsuit against Al-Hashem for “insulting the Emir of Qatar, his mother and father on Twitter” in violation of the Electronic Media Act.

Al-Hashem tweeted hours before the issuance of the ruling that he had arrived in the United Arab Emirates and enjoyed the protection of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed.

“For the first time in years I slept calmly without disturbance by a court representative to inform me of a complaint against me from [Former Qatar prime minister] Hamad Bin Jassem or others,” he said.

Read: HRW calls on Kuwait to drop charges against protesters

In September, the Kuwaiti Criminal Court ordered the arrest of Al-Hashem and the editor-in-chief of a local newspaper for insulting the State of Qatar.

Al-Hashem has repeatedly called to overthrow the regime in Qatar and appoint Sheikh Abdullah Ali Al Thani, a close ally of Saudi Arabia to replace Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

The Kuwaiti Misdemeanor Court recently fined Al-Hashem 3,000 dinars ($9,947) for insulting the Interior Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Residency Affairs, Major General Mazen Al-Jarrah, on Twitter.