(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is protesting in the strongest terms the conviction and imprisonment of Dr. Ahmad Baghdadi, head of the political science department at Kuwait University and a regular contributor to the daily newspaper “Al-Siyassa”. On 4 October 1999, a Kuwaiti appellate court sentenced Baghdadi to one month in prison for allegedly defaming Islam and […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is protesting in the strongest terms the conviction and
imprisonment of Dr. Ahmad Baghdadi, head of the political science department
at Kuwait University and a regular contributor to the daily newspaper
“Al-Siyassa”.
On 4 October 1999, a Kuwaiti appellate court sentenced Baghdadi to one month
in prison for allegedly defaming Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The charge
stemmed from a 1996 article that he wrote for the Kuwait University student
magazine “Al-Shoula”. In the article, Baghdadi stated that the Prophet
Muhammad had initially failed in his mission to convert non-believers to
Islam while in Mecca but was eventually successful in Medina. The legal suit
was reportedly filed by the imam of a Kuwaiti mosque.
According to Kuwaiti journalists, Baghdadi was arrested from his home on 6
October and taken to Talha Prison to begin serving his sentence.
This is only the most recent instance of a Kuwaiti journalist sentenced to
prison for the legitimate exercise of the internationally recognized right
to free expression. In June 1998, a Kuwaiti court convicted Muhammad Jasim
al-Saqr, the former editor-in-chief of the leading daily newspaper
“Al-Qabas”, and sentenced him to six months in prison for printing a
four-line joke in the newspaper. The Ministry of Information, which
initiated the case, charged that the joke was blasphemous (see IFEX alert of
26 June 1998). However, an appellate court overturned the sentence in
January, sparing al-Saqr from prison.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the emir:
internationally guaranteed right to freedom of expression
Kuwaiti
journalists to carry out their professional duty to report news and opinion
without fear of state reprisal
immediate release from prison
comprehensive reform of Kuwaiti law, in particular the press and
publications law, which still restricts he right of journalists to practice
their profession freely
Appeals To
His Highness Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah
Emir of the State of Kuwait
Al-Diwan al-Amiri
Al-Safat
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Fax: +965 539 4060
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
