Twitter Prisons for Tweeting in Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia
by Richard S. Ehrlich |
Bangkok, Thailand
October 31, 2013
In
Kuwait, a Shia Muslim man’s 10-year prison sentence has been
upheld by the Court of Appeals which found him guilty of
“insulting” Islam and the Sunni Muslim monarchies of Bahrain
and Saudi Arabia when he posted statements on Twitter.
In
Saudi Arabia meanwhile, a Saudi blogger was freed on Tuesday
(October 29) 20 months after being imprisoned for describing
on Twitter an imaginary conversation with Islam’s Prophet
Mohammad which included declarations of love and hate.
In
the more serious case, Hamad al-Naqi failed to convince
Kuwait’s judges that he was innocent and that unidentified
hackers used his Twitter account to make the illegal
statements.
His 10-year sentence was announced on Monday
(October 28).
It endorsed Kuwait’s lower court which, in
2012, “found al-Naqi guilty of insulting the rulers of Saudi
Arabia and Bahrain, of provoking sectarian tensions, of
insulting the Prophet Muhammad and the prophet’s wife and
companions, mocking Islam, and misusing his mobile phone to
disseminate the objectionable comments,” said New York-based
Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“Ten years in prison for
peaceful criticism shows just how little Kuwait respects
freedom of expression,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle
East director on Tuesday (October 29).
Al-Naqi’s single
tweet about the Prophet Muhammad, his wife Aisha and their
companions violated article 111 of Kuwait’s Penal Code,
which decrees that mocking religion is punishable by a
maximum one year in prison, according to al-Naqi’s lawyer
Khaled al-Shatti.
Al-Naqi’s multiple tweets criticizing
neighboring Arab monarchs violates the National Security
Law’s article 15 which requires a minimum three-year jail
sentence for intentionally broadcasting news, statements, or
false or malicious rumors that harm the national interests
of the state, the lawyer told HRW.
It is unclear if
al-Naqi, a Kuwaiti, will appeal in the supreme court.
His
case highlights a growing conservative influence in Kuwait,
including crackdowns on online dissent and the deepening
cooperation among Arab Gulf nations, the Associated Press
reported.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, Hamza Kashgari was
released after being jailed for posting tweets addressed to
the Prophet Mohammad in which Kashgari said he “loved the
rebel in you” and “loved some aspects of you, hated others,”
according to Reuters.
After posting the tweets last year,
angry Islamists in Saudi Arabia threatened to kill him, so
Kashgari fled to Muslim-majority Malaysia but was extradited
back home several days later and jailed.
Kashgari,
formerly a columnist for a Saudi newspaper, al-Bilad, was
freed on Tuesday after writing a lengthy public apology and
repenting.
Blasphemy can be punished by death in Saudi
Arabia.
Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based
journalist from San Francisco, California, reporting news
from Asia since 1978, and recipient of Columbia University’s
Foreign Correspondent’s Award. He is a co-author of three
non-fiction books about Thailand, including “Hello My Big
Big Honey!” Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their
Revealing Interviews; 60 Stories of Royal
Lineage; and Chronicle of Thailand: Headline News
Since 1946. Mr. Ehrlich also contributed to the final
chapter, Ceremonies and Regalia, in a new book titled
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life’s Work: Thailand’s
Monarchy in Perspective.
His websites are
http://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/animists/sets
https://gumroad.com/l/RHwa
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