Kuwait jails social media users for insulting the state, its ruler

The Kuwaiti judiciary on Wednesday sentenced a social media user to four years in prison with hard labour after convicting him of insulting Gulf states.

According to local media, the Court of Appeal upheld the four-year prison sentence but did not disclose the individual’s name or the Gulf state involved.

In a separate case, the local newspaper Al-Jarida reported that the Court of Appeal upheld a two-year prison sentence with enforcement against another defendant for insulting the emir.

Prosecutors are also currently investigating an activist over allegations of insulting the emir.

Calls for stricter regulations on social media platforms and the prosecution of users accused of “inciting discord” are intensifying in Kuwait.

Article 25 of the amended Kuwaiti Penal Code criminalises any offence against the emir, attacks on the Emirate’s authority, or questioning the emir’s rights and powers.

Article 54 of the Kuwaiti Constitution declares: “The Emir serves as the head of state, and his position is inviolable.”

READ: Kuwait to revoke citizenship of 5,838 people