December 22, 2024 02:22 AM

5 Years For Insulting Ruler: Kuwait Activist Jail For Twitter Comments

Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi, an opposition youth activist was sentence to five-years in jail for insulting the emir (the title given to high ranking sheikhs in the region, but in this case the rulers of the country).

If he were living in the United States, he would be covered under The First-Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, "Freedom of Speech."

With this freedom, people like rights-activists hold protests to bring awareness to their cause and show the government their feelings.

However, this right isn't extended throughout the world as evident by the events that took place in Kuwait.

The issue arrises from the group being opposed to Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah changing electoral law, which they feel "is aimed at electing a rubber-stamp parliament," reported presstv.ir.

Ajmi becomes the third activist to be sentence to jail on this type of conviction.

"The court passed the maximum jail term against Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi for insulting the emir on Twitter," the director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, Mohammad al-Humaidi said on Sunday," according to presstv.ir.

According to the rights group, large numbers of activists are on trial on similar charges in Kuwait. last month the court sentenced two activists to two years each in jail each for insulting the emir.

In 1962, Kuwait became the first Arab state in the Persian Gulf to establish an elected parliament in 1962. The only catch was that the Al Sabah family remained in control of key posts, including the premiership and the ministries of defense, interior, and foreign affairs.

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