Kuwait upholds 6-year sentence for man over Saudi criticism
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Kuwait City: Kuwait’s Supreme Court has upheld a six-year prison sentence for a man convicted of “insulting” Saudi Arabia and “endangering bilateral relations.”
Defence lawyer Badr Bakr said Thursday’s ruling against his client, Saleh Al Saeed, cannot be appealed. He said it’s the first ruling of its kind against a Kuwaiti citizen for “insulting” another Arab nation.
Al Saeed, a blogger and commentator, in his 50s, was found guilty in December 2014 of insulting Saudi Arabia and endangering Saudi-Kuwaiti relations after he appeared on a government-linked Syrian television channel and criticised the kingdom’s foreign policies.
His charges also stemmed from his tweets criticising Saudi Arabia’s policy of arming rebels in the Syrian civil war and accusing the kingdom of funding extremists.
An appeal’s court in February increased his sentence from four to six years.
Defence lawyer Badr Bakr said Thursday’s ruling against his client, Saleh Al Saeed, cannot be appealed. He said it’s the first ruling of its kind against a Kuwaiti citizen for “insulting” another Arab nation.
Al Saeed, a blogger and commentator, in his 50s, was found guilty in December 2014 of insulting Saudi Arabia and endangering Saudi-Kuwaiti relations after he appeared on a government-linked Syrian television channel and criticised the kingdom’s foreign policies.
His charges also stemmed from his tweets criticising Saudi Arabia’s policy of arming rebels in the Syrian civil war and accusing the kingdom of funding extremists.
An appeal’s court in February increased his sentence from four to six years.
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