State Security Appeals Court: 3-Year Prison Sentence for Citizen Who Challenged Emir's Rights and Insulted Gulf Rulers

The State Security Department at the Court of Appeal, presided over by Advisor Abdullah Al-Sanea and with the participation of Advisors Meshal Al-Mutawa and Saud Al-Mutairi, heard a number of cases related to state security and money laundering yesterday.

The department sentenced a Kuwaiti national to three years in prison after convicting him of publicly disparaging the rights of the Crown Prince, insulting the institution of the emirate, and offending the rulers of Gulf states. He was also found guilty of inciting sectarian strife, expressing sympathy for and support of the Iranian aggression against the country.

Investigations by the State Security Agency had monitored posts on the defendant’s Instagram account, which included images of Iranian attacks and the targeting of a Kuwaiti oil facility, actions likely to cause public panic. The posts also featured an image containing severe insults to the state’s symbols, its ruler, the rulers and symbols of Gulf states, and leaders of fraternal countries, as well as expressions of gratitude and support for the shelling of U.S. military bases in Kuwait and the Gulf region.

In another case, the department annulled a three-year prison sentence imposed on a citizen in a case involving defamation of the emirate’s dignity, and ordered his referral to psychiatric treatment after it was established, based on the results of his psychiatric evaluation, that he was not responsible for his actions.

The department also referred a defendant in another case to psychiatry for a mental capacity assessment, while deciding to postpone rulings in other cases, including a money laundering case, until next month.