Kuwait Times

Published Date: November 26, 2009

KUWAIT: Kuwait's public prosecution yesterday extended the detention of a journalist accused of slandering the prime minister until after the Eid Al-Adha holidays, his family said. In a statement posted on Mohammad Abdulqader Al-Jassem's blog, his family quoted him as saying that his detention, which began on Sunday, will now continue until at least Dec 1. Eid Al-Adha in Kuwait starts tomorrow and continues until Monday, Nov 30. Jassem was held for refusing to pay bail of KD 1,000 ($3,500) on charges that
he slandered Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, saying that the charges were "malicious and politically motivated".

In yesterday's statement, Jassem said the decision to keep him in jail was "illegitimate and constitutes a breach of the Kuwaiti constitution," and vowed to take legal action both in Kuwait and abroad against the public prosecutor. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called for Jassem's release. "Kuwait was the first Arab country to decriminalise press offences in 2006 and was the leading Middle Eastern country in the 2009 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index," the organisation said in a stat
ement.

But now more and more lawsuits are being brought against journalists because of internal political tension," it said. "The 2006 press law reform abolished imprisonment for journalists but defamation actions are often being dealt with under the criminal code. Some politicians are taking advantage of this to paralyse criticism. We urge the prosecutor general to release Jassem." On Monday, Human Rights Watch also called for him to be freed.

If convicted on what is a criminal charge in Kuwait, Jassem faces a maximum of two years in jail. Jassem made the allegedly offensive statements at a public rally last month, criticising the premier's management of the oil-rich Gulf state and calling on him to quit. The premier has been under pressure from opposition groups calling for his resignation, and last week, an Islamist MP filed to quiz him in parliament for issuing a $700,000 cheque to a former lawmaker. - AFP