STEPHANIE MCGEHEE/REUTERS
Kuwait Police Special Forces arrest an illegal demonstrator
during a protest in Kuwait City on Sunday. Security forces used stun
grenades to disperse hundreds of opposition activists trying to stage a
march without official permission.
According to the verdict on Sunday — published by online newspaper Alaan — a tweet written by Rashid Saleh al-Anzi in October “stabbed the rights and powers of the Emir” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Anzi, who has 5,700 Twitter followers, was expected to appeal the verdict, said the lawyer, who asked not to be named.
Kuwait, a U.S. ally and major oil producer, has been taking a firmer line on politically sensitive comments aired on the Internet.
In June 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Muhammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.
Two months later, authorities detained Sheikh Meshaal al-Malik Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over remarks on Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for political reform.
While public demonstrations about local issues are common in a state that allows the most dissent in the Gulf, Kuwait has avoided Arab Spring-style mass unrest that toppled three veteran Arab dictators last year.
But tensions have intensified between the hand-picked government, in which ruling family members hold the top posts, and the elected parliament and opposition groups.
On Sunday, riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse more than 1,000 anti-government protesters who were defying strict rules limiting political demonstrations.
Kuwaiti authorities have said rallies must receive written permission as part of efforts to quell growing unrest over last month’s parliamentary elections. But organizers of Sunday’s protest used social media to mobilize crowds.
