Blasphemy charges lead to long jail term in Kuwait
Amnesty International has reported a court hearing in Kuwait, in which a man was convicted for messages posted on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Hamad al-Naqi, a member of the country's Shi'a Muslim minority, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour for messages on Twitter that criticized the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and other messages deemed "insulting" to Islam.
After the verdict Ann Harrison, Amnesty International's Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director, said Hamad al-Naqi should be released immediately and unconditionally.
She said: "Criticizing religion is a protected form of expression and should not be criminalized. Nor should individuals be subject to imprisonment for insulting heads of state or other public figures or institutions. The Kuwaiti authorities should take urgent steps to review the law so that no one can be imprisoned solely for expressing their view about religion or public figures where they are not inciting hatred or violence."
Held since his arrest on 27 March 2012 in Kuwait Central Prison, al-Naqi has been denied bail.
His lawyer Khalid al-Shatti has said that he intends to appeal the conviction as he had not been allowed to have a copy of the case file or have access to his client in the early stages of the trial process.
Al-Naqi has previously said that his Twitter account was hacked and that he did not send the offending messages.
Under Article 15 of Kuwait's National Security Law, broadcasting statements which includes tweeting that are construed as endangering state security are punishable with a minimum of three years' imprisonment.
Several other social networkers in Kuwait are facing prosecution for expressing opinions in blogs and on Twitter.
One of the offending tweets was deemed "blasphemous" for insulting the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad and his wife.
After the messages were sent, members of Kuwait's majority Sunni community who lodged a complaint against him had demanded that Hamad al-Naqi be sentenced to death for "blasphemy".
Al-Shatti told Amnesty International that the death penalty could not be applied in his client's case because current law calls for a prison sentence as the maximum punishment.
In April this year, the Kuwaiti parliament voted to amend the law on insult to religion and blasphemy making the offences of "insulting God, his prophets and his messengers" subject to the death penalty unless the perpetrator publicly repented. Repeated offences would also lead to an automatic death sentence.
On Wednesday, the amendment was rejected by the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al Sabah.
The bill will now return to parliament where it could still become law if two-thirds of MPs voted for it again.
Source: Saudi Arabia News.Net
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