(RSF/IFEX) – According to information made available by RSF on 20 August 1998, on 18 August, about forty men entered and ransacked the offices of the daily “Al-Qabas” in Kuwait City (the capital city). The attackers, members of the Salab tribe, were reputedly reacting to a photograph and accompanying article they felt to be defamatory. […]
(RSF/IFEX) – According to information made available by RSF on 20 August
1998, on 18 August, about forty men entered and ransacked the offices of the
daily “Al-Qabas” in Kuwait City (the capital city). The attackers, members
of the Salab tribe, were reputedly reacting to a photograph and accompanying
article they felt to be defamatory. The photo, taken in the 1940’s, showed
Salab women without veils dancing in the presence of men. The article
explained that the Salab act this way because they are “a mix of Arabs
and others people who came to Islam later.”
RSF is also concerned about the harassment of the “Al-Qabas” newspaper. Last
June, Mohamed Jassem al-Saqr, the editor-in-chief, was sentenced to six
months in jail. His
appeal is scheduled for 12 September (see IFEX alert of 26 June 1998).
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
work safely
to rescind his sentence
Appeals To
His Highness Shaikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah
Amir of the State of Kuwait
Al-Diwan al-Amiri – Al-Safat
Kuwait City – Kuwaitc/o the Kuwaiti diplomatic representative to your country
(in the United States of America)
Embassy of Kuwait
2940 Tilden Street N.W.
Washington, DC
20008 U.S.A.(in Canada)
Embassy of Kuwait
80 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C6 Canada
Fax: +1 613 780 9905
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
