Monday, February 04, 2013
Unknown
KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to
five years in prison on Sunday for insulting the emir on Twitter, a
rights lawyer and news websites said, in the latest prosecution for
criticism of authorities via social media in the Gulf Arab state.
The court gave Kuwaiti Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi the maximum sentence for the comments, news websites al-Rai and alaan.cc reported.
In recent months Kuwait has penalised several Twitter
users for criticising the emir, who is described as "immune and
inviolable" in the constitution.
"We call on the government to expand freedoms and
adhere to the international (human rights) conventions it has signed,"
said lawyer Mohammad al-Humaidi, director of the Kuwait Society for
Human Rights, commenting on the case.
Courts in Kuwait generally do not comment to the media.
Amnesty International said in November Kuwait had increased restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
It urged Kuwait to ensure protection for users of
social media, whether they supported or opposed the government, as long
as they did not incite racial hatred or violence.
Kuwait, a U.S. ally and major oil producer, has been
taking a firmer line on politically sensitive comments aired on the
internet. Twitter is extremely popular in the country of 3.7 million.
In January, a court sentenced two men in separate cases to jail time for insulting the emir on Twitter.
In June 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the
Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.
Two months later, authorities detained Sheikh Meshaal
al-Malik Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over remarks on
Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for
political reform.
The recent Twitter cases have been carried out under
the state security law and penal code. Last year Kuwait passed new
legislation aimed at regulating social media.
Public demonstrations and debates about local issues
are common in a state that allows the most dissent in the Gulf, but
Kuwait has avoided the kind of mass unrest that unseated four heads of
Arab states in 2011.
But tensions intensified between authorities and
opposition groups last year ahead of a parliamentary election deemed
unfair by opposition politicians and activists.
The opposition
movement said new voting rules introduced by Sheikh Sabah by emergency
decree in October would skew the December 1 election in favour of
pro-government candidates. The emir said the old voting system was
flawed and that his changes were constitutional and necessary for
Kuwait's "security and stability".
five years in prison on Sunday for insulting the emir on Twitter, a
rights lawyer and news websites said, in the latest prosecution for
criticism of authorities via social media in the Gulf Arab state.
The court gave Kuwaiti Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi the maximum sentence for the comments, news websites al-Rai and alaan.cc reported.
In recent months Kuwait has penalised several Twitter
users for criticising the emir, who is described as "immune and
inviolable" in the constitution.
"We call on the government to expand freedoms and
adhere to the international (human rights) conventions it has signed,"
said lawyer Mohammad al-Humaidi, director of the Kuwait Society for
Human Rights, commenting on the case.
Courts in Kuwait generally do not comment to the media.
Amnesty International said in November Kuwait had increased restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
It urged Kuwait to ensure protection for users of
social media, whether they supported or opposed the government, as long
as they did not incite racial hatred or violence.
Kuwait, a U.S. ally and major oil producer, has been
taking a firmer line on politically sensitive comments aired on the
internet. Twitter is extremely popular in the country of 3.7 million.
In January, a court sentenced two men in separate cases to jail time for insulting the emir on Twitter.
In June 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the
Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.
Two months later, authorities detained Sheikh Meshaal
al-Malik Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over remarks on
Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for
political reform.
The recent Twitter cases have been carried out under
the state security law and penal code. Last year Kuwait passed new
legislation aimed at regulating social media.
Public demonstrations and debates about local issues
are common in a state that allows the most dissent in the Gulf, but
Kuwait has avoided the kind of mass unrest that unseated four heads of
Arab states in 2011.
But tensions intensified between authorities and
opposition groups last year ahead of a parliamentary election deemed
unfair by opposition politicians and activists.
The opposition
movement said new voting rules introduced by Sheikh Sabah by emergency
decree in October would skew the December 1 election in favour of
pro-government candidates. The emir said the old voting system was
flawed and that his changes were constitutional and necessary for
Kuwait's "security and stability".
.jpg)
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment