KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait’s appeal court on Wednesday increased by two years the four-year jail sentence of an activist who tweeted comments deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia.
Saleh Al Saeed was sentenced to four years in jail in December by a lower court for posting comments on Twitter in which he accused Saudi Arabia of grabbing land in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The lower court charged that because of the 16 tweets he had posted online in October he had endangered Saudi-Kuwaiti relations and undermined the kingdom.
The appeal court raised the jail sentence to six years but did not give a reason for its decision. Courts in Kuwait usually provide details of rulings days after they are made.
Saeed, who is in his 50s, has in the past few years repeatedly criticised Saudi Arabia, Qatar and some other Gulf states for their hostile position towards the Syrian government.
The sentence is not final as it can be challenged in the supreme court.
Kuwait authorities last month detained several online activists allegedly for comments deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah. No one has so far been sent to court.
Kuwait has cracked down on activists for making comments seen as critical of the country’s ruler and other Arab leaders, especially in the Gulf.
* Agence France-Presse
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Skewed figures
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Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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A foster couple or family must:
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