Kuwaiti blogger sentenced to 5 years in prison for 'insulting UAE'

Kuwait’s criminal court yesterday sentenced the writer and activist, Abdullah Al-Saleh to five years in prison over charges of slandering the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to Kuwait’s Al-Qabas the defendant has filed an asylum request to the United Kingdom, declaring his wish not to return to Kuwait.

Al-Saleh is also sentenced in other cases to total of 31 years in prison. Last month, the same criminal court in Kuwait sentenced him to five years in prison over “defaming Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Saleh’s trial came following his recent posts and videos on Twitter, in which he criticised Saudi Arabia for boycotting of Qatar since June.

The Kuwaiti activist recently said on Twitter: “I was sentenced by state security to five years in prison for insulting Saudi Arabia over boycotting Qatar.” “I do not regret what happened and the videos that I recorded. This is my right,” he stressed.

Read: Twitter user sentenced to 10 years in Kuwait for insulting Gulf States

On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt severed relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of financing extremist and terrorist groups and aligning with Iran. Qatar has denied the allegations.

Al-Saleh, known in Kuwait as “the Bronze”, is a professor in economic development and is one of the most famous controversial activists on social media.