The Kuwaiti Court of Cassation sentenced activist Saqr Al-Hashash to one year and eight months in prison for insulting the Emir through tweets he posted on his personal Twitter account.
This statement was originally published on anhri.net on 5 January 2015.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) denounces the verdict handed down by the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation, against activist Saqr Al-Hashash on charges of insulting the Emir (The Prince).
On January 5, 2015, the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation sentenced the activist to one year and eight months in prison for insulting the Emir through tweets he posted on his personal Twitter account. Noticeably, the criminal court had previously acquitted Saqr Al-Hashash of that charge in two lawsuits lodged again him on the same accusations.
“This judgment is just one more in a series of verdicts that the Kuwaiti judicial system has handed down, in connection with insulting the Emir on Twitter. Such a matter is a clear violation of freedom of expression in the country,” ANHRI says.
ANHRI implores the Kuwaiti authorities to release the activist without delay and to drop all the charges pressed against him. Such a verdict, accordingly, breaches all international treaties and conventions on freedom of expression and human rights in general.
