(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Kuwait's court of appeals on Monday upheld a 10-year jail term against a Shiite tweeter allegedly for remarks deemed offensive to the rulers of fellow Gulf states Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Monday's ruling highlights the escalating crackdowns in the Gulf on perceived online dissent and the deepening cooperation among Gulf nations, fearing political challenges inspired by the Arab Spring.
Saudi Arabia led a Gulf military force in 2011 that helped Bahrain's Sunni monarchy battle an uprising seeking a greater political voice which more than 110 people have been killed since then. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.
Hamad al-Naqi, 23, who has been in jail since March 2012, was found guilty of the religious insults and of criticising the leaders of neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to the court ruling.
He was handed the heavy sentence by a lower court in June last year. The ruling can still be challenged in the supreme court.
He posted the offensive messages on two Twitter accounts in February and March of 2012, according to the ruling.
Naqi said his Twitter accounts were hacked during that period.
In recent months, Kuwait has jailed tweeters and activists. Opposition activists have also been jailed for using Twitter to insult the emir of the oil-rich Gulf state.
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28 October 2013 - 20:30
News ID: 476352
Kuwaiti Shiite man Hamad al-Naqi was found guilty allegedly for religious insults, criticizing leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain.
