Kuwait cleric convicted for insulting ruler

[Aidoneus]

Kuwait cleric convicted for insulting ruler
Saturday 19 June 2004

A Kuwaiti criminal court has convicted a prominent Muslim cleric on charges of insulting the country's ruler and has handed him a suspended sentence of two years in jail.

The court on Saturday said Hamid al- Ali will serve the two years if he breaks the law again within the next three years. He was also ordered to pay 1000 dinars (US$3380) as a guarantee which will not be refunded if he breaks the law.

The cleric, a former head of the strict Salaf religious movement, was charged with saying at a mosque in March that all Arab leaders were "traitors and losers". Although al-Ali did not mention the amir, Shaikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Sabah, by name, the prosecution believes the ruler was included because he is one of those leaders.

Al-Ali was also convicted of insulting "friendly countries," and
questioning the right of the amir to allow foreign military forces - mainly US and British - to use Kuwait as a launch pad for last year's war in Iraq.

--snip--

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/92845811-F01D-4713-AEEC-D64A077F7CFE.htm

[bahrbearian]

1. That's how we are bringing Democracy to the World?

Freedom of speech ?