Kuwait sentences ex-MP to 6 months in prison for insulting UAE

Former Member of Kuwait’s National Assembly, Nasser Al-Duwailah attends a parliament session at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on 19 November 2008 [YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images]

The Kuwaiti Court of Appeal on Monday sentenced former lawmaker and lawyer, Nasser Al-Duwailah, to six months in prison and fined him 2,000 dinars ($6,500) after finding him guilty of offending the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait’s Al-Anbaa newspaper reported.

Earlier in February, the Criminal Court acquitted Al-Duwailah of the same charges, however the prosecution appealed the verdict and demanded he be charged with violating the Cyber Crime Law over posts he made on Twitter.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a complaint against Al-Duwailah, claiming he threatened “diplomatic ties between Kuwait and the UAE”.

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