Kuwait Sentences Two Men To Jail For Tweets Criticizing Ruler

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Kuwait Sentences Two Men To Jail For Tweets Criticizing Ruler

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday January 8, 2013 @11:32PM from the sticks-and-stones dept.

New submitter Oxide writes "A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to two years in prison on Monday for insulting the country's ruler on Twitter, his lawyer said, the second person to be jailed for the offense in as many days. The Gulf state has clamped down in recent months on political activists who have been using social media websites to criticize the government and the ruling family. What's interesting is that the tweets in question did not mention the ruler directly but just indicated it might be him it is referring to."

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Another argument for metric by MrKaos · 2013-01-08 23:43 · Score: 5, Funny

As it's obvious this ruler was Imperial.

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My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Damned Tyrants! by neiljt · 2013-01-08 23:44 · Score: 5, Funny

Cripes, reading this makes the US sound like the Land of the Free.
1. Re:Damned Tyrants! by Chatsubo · 2013-01-09 00:57 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  > nobody takes anything anyone states on social media seriously
  Until you put them in jail.
  
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  > no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
2. Re:Damned Tyrants! by drinkypoo · 2013-01-09 01:38 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Cripes, reading this makes the US sound like the Land of the Free.
  It sure does, doesn't it? That's why I yell so loudly about every little infringement of our freedoms. We'll miss them when they're gone, even the ones we didn't think we were interested in.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
3. Re:Damned Tyrants! by gtall · 2013-01-09 02:38 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Let's review the Arab Spring just for giggles. Tunisia: moderate government but the Islamists are grinding their teeth and threatening people. Egypt: elected an Islamist who appears to be governing by decree...admittedly attempting to lead a failed state. Libya: warring clans, no central government. Syria: civil war. Saudi Arabia: Arab What? Yemen: weak central government, Islamists wandering the hills in search of victims...errr...followers. Kuwaiti: still ruled by the fat boys in robes. The rest of the Gulf States: see Saudi Arabia. Algeria: still fighting the Islamists, central government has heard of democracy but is having none of it. Morocco: still has monarchy which is fighting tooth and nail to remain relevant, Islamists don't yet have a significant foothold. The other African countries have Islamists cutting off heads, arms, legs, etc....gotta wonder what they have against those limbs.
  Some spring. Allah-forbid summer should come, the Islamists won't rest until every Arab is under their boot.
Criticizing ruler? by TheDarAve · 2013-01-08 23:55 · Score: 4, Funny

What did they post? "Your numbers aren't fully in line!" "You don't take exact measurements! " "Being flat and metal with writing all over you is evil!"
Re:Dont talk shit about people... by Buggz · 2013-01-08 23:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

That would make the problem hidden, not solved.
All Hail the Principle. by MRe_nl · 2013-01-09 00:07 · Score: 4, Funny

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah al-Streisand effect.

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"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
Good Thing by ThatsNotPudding · 2013-01-09 00:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

Good thing the US saved these scions of freedom from the clutches of a tyrant, eh?
Re:Kuwait? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-09 00:53 · Score: 4, Informative

Yes: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/2013189218755379.html
Re:I think I remember by Jiro · 2013-01-09 03:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

This isn't true. For instance, the Taliban banned the education of women, but education of women was allowed before that. Schools had to close down--why would they have to close down something which according to you never could have existed?
The Taliban were also known for destroying some historical Buddhist statues for religious reasons. If what you were saying is true, and the people of the area have the same beliefs as the Taliban, those statues would have been destroyed already by the locals.
It's true that the people of Afghanistan want what would by Western standards still be a dictatorship, but some dictatorships are bad, and some are really bad.