sentenced a Sunni activist to three months in jail for writing
remarks on
his Twitter account which was considered by the court as derogatory
to
Shiites
----
a good example of why the USA doesn't have hate speech laws
On Sep 26, 11:18 am, William Gomes <williamgomes....@gmail.com> wrote:
> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
>
> *
> *
>
> *September 26, 2011*
>
> *Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah*
>
> *Amir of the State of Kuwait*
>
> *Al Diwan Al Amiri,
> Sief Palace – Building 100
> State of Kuwait.*
>
> * *
>
> *RE: Release prisoner of conscience Nasser Abul and Lawrence al-Rashidi
> Immediately*
>
> *Dear Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,*
>
> *I am William Gomes, human rights activist and journalist. *
>
> *Freedom of expression is the mother to all other freedoms.** Kuwait holds
> first place among Gulf States in terms of respect for individual freedoms,
> and particularly in respect of press freedom. According to Reporters sans
> frontiers, Kuwaiti media are undoubtedly the freest in the region and have
> been closely covering tensions between the government and the parliamentary
> opposition.*
>
> *Kuwait boasts a score of privately owned daily and weekly newspapers in
> Arabic and two English-language dailies. Kuwait's written press has for
> decades played a major role in the political debate and reflects a tradition
> of diversity and outspokenness, according to RSF***
>
> *Freedom of expression has been given a further boost by the liberalization
> of the broadcast sector and the creation of numerous satellite television
> channels as a result of several press law reforms.** However, criminal law –
> that does provide for prison sentences – still applies to some offences,
> such as "defamation" or "attacks on religion", according to RSF*
>
> * On the same time it is a very reality that in Kuwait there is widespread
> self-censorship in local press.*
>
> *According to press freedom barometer 2011of Reporters sans
> frontiers<http://en.rsf.org/report-kuwait,156.html>by the year there
> is no record of Killing, imprisonment of a single
> journalist or media assistants.*
>
> *I do wonder in the absence of democracy the journalist are enjoying the
> freedom and the life of journalist and media people seems comparatively safe
> in your country and that gives a hope that there is a deep seed of
> democracy in the region. *
>
> *I am deeply concern about the about the a local of Kuwait court yesterday
> sentenced a Sunni activist to three months in jail for writing remarks on
> his Twitter account which was considered by the court as derogatory to
> Shiites, according to local and international media
> reports<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jcd6pEe7QG_905508P...>.
> *
>
> *On June 7, Nasser Abul received a summons to go to Kuwait's Criminal
> Investigations Department. Authorities questioned him for a day, then
> transferred him to the state security prison. His lawyer, Khalid al-Shatti,
> said authorities detained Abul in connection with a series of postings on
> his Twitter page that sharply criticized and mocked the ruling families of
> Bahrain and Saudi Arabia for attacks on anti-government protests in Bahrain.
> *
>
> *Authorities beat Abul and subjected him to sleep deprivation while he was
> at the Criminal Investigations Department, and then held him in solitary
> confinement for two weeks. Authorities denied his client access to legal
> counsel during several interrogation sessions at the prosecutor's office,
> denied him family visits, and repeatedly insulted him for being a
> Shia, according
> to Human rights
> watch<http://www.ifex.org/kuwait/2011/07/13/internet_scribes_jailed/>
>
> The lawyer said that Abul denied writing some of the more inflammatory
> tweets he was accused of writing himself and said that hackers had posted
> the messages.*
>
> *Nasser Abul was taken to his family's home on 14 June; the house was
> searched and his computer and phone were confiscated. During the search,
> Nasser Abdul told his mother he had been beaten during the first two days of
> his detention, insulted and threatened, adding that he was not permitted to
> turn off the light in his cell. He has been subject to harsh treatment
> during the first two days of his detention, according to AI *
>
> *He is a prisoner of conscience who has been detained purely for the
> peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, according to Amnesty
> international<http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-campaign/action.retrievestaticpage.do...>
> *
>
> * On Sunday he was sentenced by the court with the charges of undermining
> the country's national interests and endangering Kuwait's relations with
> Saudi Arabia.*
>
> *Although the ministry of information claimed that** freedom of opinion was
> ensured to everyone as per Kuwaiti constitution and laws regulating mass
> media, according to ministry of
> information.<http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=...>
> *
>
> *The impulsive conviction of Nasser Abul by the local court breach Kuwait's
> international obligation to uphold freedom of expression as guaranteed in
> the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which
> Kuwait is a state party.*
>
> *I want to recall your memories on February 2011the pro-reform protests
> began in Bahrain that leads to the arrests of at least 500 people and four
> people have died in custody in suspicious circumstances. I hope you do
> remember that on 12 June a member of the Bahraini ruling family, Sheikh
> Abdullah Mohammad bin Ahmad Al-Fatih Al-Khalifa, announced that he will be
> suing Nasser Abul, for slandering and defaming his family.*
>
> *Human Rights Watch reviewed the postings on Abul's account, which express
> support for the anti-government demonstrators in Bahrain and sharp criticism
> of the Bahraini and Saudi governments and ultra-conservative Islamist
> ideology. Some messages used derogatory or profane language about Bahrain's
> ruling Al Khalifa family, but none expressed any support for violence.*
>
> *This is not an isolated case, Lawrence al-Rashidi was also arrested on June
> based on a YouTube video. Lawrence al-Rashidi in a YouTube video called you
> to step down, according to rashdi you were violating Kuwaitis' rights, and
> he predicts that you will be removed from power based upon events in Egypt,
> Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen.*
>
> *Kuwait jailed a blogger, Mohammad
> al-Jassim<http://en.rsf.org/kuwait-well-known-blogger-arrested-after-23-11-2010...>,
> in May and June 2010, after he criticized the country's prime minister.
> Al-Jassim appealed charges against him and was subsequently acquitted.*
>
> *I want to remind you as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and
> Political Rights, Kuwait is bound by article 19(2) of that covenant, which
> states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right
> shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of
> all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print,
> in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice." Article 36 of
> Kuwait's constitution protects freedom of speech and opinion, stating that:
> "Every person has the right to express and propagate his opinion verbally,
> in writing, or otherwise, in accordance with the conditions and procedures
> specified by law."*
>
> *The government should decisively reject criminal prosecution for mere
> speech and stop expanding repression into the realm of social networking
> sites.*
>
> *I urge you to take immediate action to release Nasser Abul and Lawrence
> al-Rashidi. *
>
> *I trust that you will take immediate action into this matter.*
>
> * *
>
> *Yours sincerely,*
>
> * *
>
> *William Nicholas Gomes*
>
> * *
>
> *Journalist and Human Rights Activist*
>
> * *
>
> *E-mail:Will...@williamgomes.org*
>
> *Skype: William.gomes9*
>
> *Face book:www.facebook.com/wngomes*
>
> *Twitter:www.twitter.com/persecutionbd*
>
> *www.williamgomes.org*
>
> *Links: <http://www.williamgomes.org/>*Release prisoner of conscience Nasser
> Abul and Lawrence al-Rashidi
> Immediately<http://www.williamgomes.org/blog/?p=177>
>
> * *
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