10 years for Twitter ‘insults’

KUWAIT CITY (AP) – A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for Twitter posts deemed insulting to Islam and to the rulers of Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The case appears to reflect a growing conservative influence in Kuwait. Defense lawyer, Khaled al-Shatti, said his client Hamad al-Naqi who claims his Twitter account was hacked, has a chance to appeal the sentence. Al-Naqi’s account contained posts insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and the Gulf states of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.