(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is gravely concerned for the safety of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who is reported to have been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by the Kuwait Criminal Court on 9 March 2004. His case is also said to have been transferred to the State […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is gravely concerned for the safety of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who is reported to have been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by the Kuwait Criminal Court on 9 March 2004. His case is also said to have been transferred to the State Security Court. No further details of the new charges brought against him are known at this stage.
Al-Habib was amnestied by the emir on 25 February, Kuwaiti National Day, after being sentenced to one year in prison on 20 January for “defaming the companions of the prophet Muhammad” in a lecture he had delivered. It is feared that elements within the Kuwaiti National Assembly have pressured the authorities to have his Amiri pardon overturned.
