Kuwait
Blogger released from jailPosted Jan 26 2011
A blogger in Kuwait was released after serving 63 days of his three month sentence, according to Reporters Without Borders. Mohamed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem was convicted with defaming Kuwait’s prime minister on his blog, www.aljasem.org, last November. The post claimed “that the Iranian intelligence services were using a businessman close to Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah to meddle in Kuwaiti affairs,” according to Reporters Without Borders.
Previous to this imprisonment, Al-Jassem had been jailed twice in the last 14 months and had more than 15 prosecutions brought against him, four straight from the prime minister.
Al-Jassem must appear in court again on Jan. 31, on another charge of defamation and spreading false information about Kuwait. “Reporters Without Borders welcomes Jassem’s release but points out that he continues to be the victim of judicial harassment,” the organization reported.