Kuwait
Journalist sentenced to six months in prisonPosted Apr 16 2010
A Kuwait court sentenced prominent journalist Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem to six months in prison April 1 for speaking out against Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Al-Jassem demanded the prime minister’s resignation and was arrested in November 2009 after refusing to pay bail. In August 2009, Al-Jassem wrote an article in Alam Al-Youm criticizing media outlets loyal to the prime minister for perpetuating tensions between the Sunni and Shiite communities in Kuwait. The court fined him and the newspaper 5,000 dinars (about 13,000 euros).
Al-Jassem faces at least five lawsuits from the prime minister and information minister. He told Reporters Without Borders that Kuwait’s national security chief sent a letter asking him to leave the country.