Posted
February 2nd, 2011
by
Al-Jassem faces ongoing judicial harassment, and is currently on trial in a separate case on a charge of defaming the Emir and spreading false information about Kuwait. PEN welcomes al-Jassem’s release, and calls on the Kuwaiti government to drop all other charges against him in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Kuwait is a party.
According to our information, a criminal court in the capital, Kuwait City, sentenced al-Jassem in November 2010 after he was convicted of criminal defamation in a case filed against him by the Prime Minister for an article published in 2009. The sentence began immediately and he was held at Kuwait Central Prison until his release on 23 January 2011.
The case is among eighteen that the government has reportedly filed against the journalist for his writings, four of which were brought by the Prime Minister in the last year. Al-Jassem was acquitted in two out of the four cases. He was arrested most recently in May 2010 and held for several weeks for “attacking national unity” and defaming the Prime Minister in his blog. He was freed on bail on 28 June 2010. According al-Jassem’s lawyer, he faces charges varying from defamation to “instigating to overthrow the regime.” A special section has been set up within the Ministry of Justice to look exclusively into the cases against him.
Useful links:
• Statement by Amnesty International (26 November 2010)
• IFEX (1 December 2010)
TAKE ACTION
Please send appeals:
- Welcoming the release of journalist and blogger Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qader al-Jassem;
- Urging the Kuwaiti government to drop all other charges against him;
- Seeking guarantees that he will be protected from further arrest as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Kuwait is a signatory.
Appeals to:
His Highness Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah
Emir of the State of Kuwait
Al-Diwan al-Amiri
Al-Safat
Kuwait City
Kuwait.
Fax: 965 539 3069
Minister of Justice
His Excellency Ahmed al-Baqir
P.O.Box 6
Safat 13001
Kuwait
Fax: 965 243 3750
Minister of Interior
Al-Tayyeb Al-Shargawi
Ministry of Interior
P.O. Box 12500
Shamiya 71655
Kuwait
Fax: 965 243 6570
Please send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic representative for Kuwait in the UK:
His Excellency Mr. Khaled Al-Duwaisan
Embassy of the State of Kuwait
2 Albert Gate
London
SW1X 7JU
Fax: 020 7823 1712
Email: widad@btconnect.com
Originally posted with the url: www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/journalistandbloggermuhammadabdal-qaderal-jassemreleased/
