Kuwait

In Kuwait, no one is immune from legal prosecution when criticizing the Emir and the ruling family.

On 18 April 2016, Kuwaiti security forces arrested Bedoon human rights activist Abdulhakim Al-Fadhli. Human rights defender Rana Al-Sadoun, who was arrested two days previously, has since been released from prison on bail.

Eleven regional and international civil society groups have penned a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama urging him to press for the release of all detained rights defenders across the Gulf region who are imprisoned solely due to their peaceful and legitimate human rights work.

On March 29, Kuwait’s parliament voted to strip Member of Parliament, and human rights defender, Abdulhamid Dashti of his parliamentary immunity over comments he made against Saudi Arabia, and in support of Syrian President al-Assad.

The new legislation contains 21 articles which seek to regulate a number of online activities in Kuwait. There is particular concern that the new law, especially articles 4, 6 and 7, could be used to limit freedom of expression on the Internet, as well as to target online activists including bloggers and citizen journalists.

Articles 6 and 7 of the new law expand the reach of existing prohibitions on print publications to virtually all dissemination of information through the Internet, including online journalism and private use of social media and blogs.

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on June 12, 2015, upheld a six-year sentence for blogger Saleh al-Saeed for tweets criticizing Saudi Arabia.

Eleven of the protesters were released on March 25 and are expected to face charges of illegal gathering. Five remain in custody and may face charges of attacking law enforcement offices in addition to the illegal gathering charges.

Saleh al-Mulla was charged with insulting the Emir, insulting a foreign leader, and endangering bilateral relations over critical tweets he sent before an official visit by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt.

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.

Kuwaiti authorities have announced the third batch of citizenship revocations this year, during a general crackdown on dissent.

An arrest warrant was issued to novelist Rania al-Saad on 27 August 2014 as a result of a report filed against her by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs accusing her of “insulting Saudi Arabia” on Twitter.

Well-known Kuwaiti human rights activist and blogger Mohammed Al-Ajmi was arrested in connection with a tweet.

Kuwait’s new telecommunications law gives the government sweeping powers to block content, deny access to the Internet, and revoke licenses without giving reasons.

As part of a wider crackdown on people seeking reform, Kuwaiti authorities have stripped five critics of their citizenship leaving them stateless.

A death sentence has been pronounced via Twitter for Kuwaiti-born comic-book innovator Naif Al-Mutawa by the jihadist militant group ISIS (also known as ISIL).