Global Voices Advocacy » Kuwait

Kuwait: Ahmad Mansoor, a UAE blogger denied entry

Mona Kareem — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:57:38 +0000

Blogger and activist Ahmad Mansoor after his release last November

Ahmad Mansoor, UAE's most famous blogger who was detained last year for several months with four other activists for signing an online petition calling for reforms in his country, was denied entry to Kuwait few days ago. The UAE5 including Mansoor were released with a pardon on the 28th of November. Recently, Human Right Watch press conference in Dubai which was planned to release the organization's report on the decline of freedom of expression in the Gulf wealthy state was raided by state security police called off.

Through his twitter account, Mansoor was the one who reported the details of this raid on HRW's press conference. More than a week after, Mansoor went to Kuwait and was denied entry, which makes him the second human rights defender to be denied entry in Kuwait in a very short time period after Kassab Al-Otaibi (@Dr_Kassab ) a Saudi opposition activist based in the UK. Mansoor reported what happened to him in the airport through twitter, as Kuwait was having its vote for parliamentary elections; one of the reasons why there wasn't much attention paid for the incident the UAE blogger had to go through.

Mansoor tweeted:

I'm Kuwait airport now. Prevented from entering. Too bad that this happens in Kuwait; the only democracy in #gcc !!

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc: after an interrogation for about an hour, I was told that I can not enter by the State Security officers.#kuwait #uae

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc #kuwait #uae further told that if I can not find a ticket back, I would be detained until then.

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

#gcc #kuwait #uae: off course, preventing me from entering kuwait was based on instruction from UAE authorities.

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

Not sure though why authorities in UAE first let me leave Sharjah airport to start with and put Kuwait in this situation. #gcc #kuwait #uae

— Ahmed Mansoor (@Ahmed_Mansoor) February 2, 2012

Kuwait: More Twitter Users Arrested

Mona Kareem — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:35:00 +0000

Picture of tweep Hamad AlOlayan with his father and two kids after his release

2011 has been the year of defeat for online free speech in Kuwait as netizens have never been harassed as often as they have been in the past few months. Since last April, three netizens were arrested and sentenced to jail for expressing their opinions online and the arrests' wave has not stopped as two more twitter users got arrested recently and released within 24 hours after the raged reactions that these arrests created among citizens and parliament members. Hamad AlOlayan and Tariq Al-Mutairi are two netizens who have been actively tweeting in criticism of the Prime Minister and some of their recent tweets were seen as a violation of the constitutional 54th article that forbids making any remarks against the Amir as he is “the head of the state and is immune.” Both users have denied the accusations and said they were misinterpreted, yet they will still be interrogated due to a complaint submitted by the public prosecution, despite releasing them.

Many netizens objected and refused the way those twitter users were treated by authorities saying that there is no problem in calling them to court to question their statements and see whether they have violated the constitution or not, yet the arrests are illegal and violate freedom of speech which is a constitutional right for every citizen. Others thought one should never be questioned for expressing his opinion no matter what. The arrests have also made netizens demand a law that protects them from security authorities that are continuously violating their rights to free speech. Kuwaitis suggested that their authorities should accept criticism and work on reforms instead of trying to oppress those who demand change.

Parliament members did not miss this chance to object and use the arrests as one more card against the government. Member of parliament Musalam Al-Barrak claimed that there is a Dubai-based company, owned by a Palestinian, which monitors Twitter activists and is paid by the prime minister’s office. He said the company sends reports to the Ministry of Interior on all what is tweeted on Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah. A number of parliamentarians are now planning to quiz the interior minister over those arrests and they have condemned these acts as a violation of free speech suggesting that the government is abusing power to silence people. Tens of young men and women protested the following day after the arrests in front of the public prosecution's building and some parliamentarians showed up to this sit-in. Youth, however, criticized the attendance of parliamentarians in this sit-in saying they are trying to take credit instead of working on a law that protects online free speech. Some twitter users found the reactions of some parliamentarians as useless because quizing the interior minister and attending a protest will not solve this on-going issue.

Kuwait: Three Netizens Detained

Mona Kareem — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:05:08 +0000

Twitter avatars of Mubarak Al-Bathali (left) and Nasser Abul in a blue t-shirt (right).

Kuwait does not have a history of detaining citizens for expressing their views online; the first arrest case in relevance to the internet happened to Bashar Al-Sayegh (@balsayegh) a Kuwaiti journalist who was detained by the State Security Police four years ago because of a post written in a forum that he monitored called AlOmmah.org. Al-Sayegh was released four days after his arrest due to the intense political sphere Kuwait lived in those few days between different political groups and the government. Other cases of arresting netizens only occurred this year after witnessing the interrogation of a popular local twitter user named Mishari Buyabis (@mbuyabis) who was investigated for hours by the State Security Police, which also made a fuss in Kuwaiti political sphere and through media. The arrest cases were three and they all took place three months ago creating a phobia of ‘where your online opinions can eventually lead you.'

Nasser Abul (@NasserAbuL) was the first to get arrested for his tweets. He had a long timeline filled with insulting tweets of the Sunni sect and severe criticism and insults to the Saudi and Bahraini regimes for their stand against the Bahraini protests. Salafi Parliament member Walid Al-Tabtabai (@Altabtabie) was the first to post snapshots of Abul's tweets and demand his arrest, which eventually put the controversial parliamentarian, once again, under fire from the Shia community inside and outside Kuwait. Abul has spent three months between State Security Police and the Central Prison waiting for his trial and two of the charges against him were “insulting a religious sect and insulting neighboring regimes”, in reference to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. On the 27th of September, Kuwaiti court found Abul guilty of insulting a religious sect and sentenced him to three months in jail, which he already served, and set him free. It is worth mentioning that Abul has denied writing the problematic tweets saying that his account has been hacked and when asked about his twitter avatar with the Bahraini flag he said that he was in a Kuwaiti protest in support of the Bahraini uprising.

Another arrest case of a twitter user happened to a very controversial person called Mubarak Al-Bathali (@mubaark) who has been previously linked with Al-Qaeda and of fundraising money and recruiting men for them through his speeches and visits to different mosques years ago. Al-Bathali openly declares his support of Al-Qaeda but has dedicated himself this year through twitter to being an anti-Shia fanatic with a very insulting tone of language. Locally, Al-Bathali is known for his frequent visits to State Security Police, and this year several Shias filed complaints against him for his tweets. Eventually, Al-Bathali was arrested and he did not deny what he wrote saying that he completely stands for his beliefs, so he was sentenced to three years in prison, which was eventually shortened to six months, for threatening national unity and insulting a religious sect.

The third case is the most mysterious one as Kuwaiti mainstream media avoids talking about it in details. It is the case of a man called Lawrence Al-Rishidi who was arrested for insulting the Kuwaiti Amir (ruler) in a Youtube video, which has disappeared. The Amir, according to the constitution, is the only figure that cannot be insulted nor criticized and it is said that Al-Rishidi has asked him to step down saying that the Arab Spring will eventually reach Kuwait. Human Rights organizations have several times issued reports demanding the release of Lawrence and the other two cases and no replies have been made by the Kuwaiti authorities. Latest local reports indicate that Lawrence tried to deny making the video. Several organizations and activists tried to reach him or his lawyer but nothing has been helpful.

Kuwait: YouTube Ban Lifted

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:48:53 +0000

News about YouTube being blocked in Kuwait hit the headlines yesterday, with bloggers frustrated over what they described as yet another intrusion on freedom of speech in their country.

The Kuwait Ministry of Communications first issued an order to local ISPs denying access to Youtube due to video content considered offensive to Muslims and Islam. Blogger later reported that the ban was lifted after YouTube removed the ‘offensive' video.

About the original ban, Ansam writes:

I think this is the dumbest decision ever made when it comes to blocking offensive sites… whats next? Blogs!!! Limewire!!!

Man this is ridiculous… no, no, no… its is ridiculously sad! Who comes up with such decisions! Isnt youtube also full of videos supporting Islam, Muslims, and Arabs! Why take the negative part?!?! Was it because of the Quranic verses read in melodic background? The video was removed for God's sake? You only need to report offensive videos and your voice will sure be heard!

I am hating this SO MUCH! Ughhhhhhhhh!

And when the ban was not implemented, Ansam exclaimed:

They canceled! Its not blocked… YAY

Another Kuwaiti blogger, Loft965, notes:

It’s the end of the world as we know it: Kuwait might block YouTube.

Bashar too is livid at the decision, suggesting that the government bans other sites while it is at it. His suggestions include:

If they still wanna move forward, despite that YouTube did really act upon the video, listned to people complains, and there isn’t really any such videos right now, then I have a list of suggestions to push our country furter forward, carefully selected from Alexa top 100 sites in Kuwait:

Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search: The head of search to all evil things. Block them.

Facebook: There are some athiest and anti-Islamic groups. Don’t try to reach them, educate them, or show your thoughts. Just leave the whole site.

Maktoob.com: Arabic online forums, e-marriage could be abused for dating, movies, horoscopes. This is not Islamic is it?

Kooora.com: All about soccer, mostly European soccer where teams show sponsored Beer and wine ads on their Shirts.

RapidShare: Sharing is not monitored, you can’t tell what your people are sharing. And someone might be secretly sharing offensive content. There must be some of it. Or at least, just to be on the safe side

Travian.ae: Obiously, why should you let your people play as Romanian soldiers in an online game, helping the Romanian empire expand it’s grounds online, when they could be fighting as Islamic ones.

Hi5: Friendship site.

Falantan brings news of the order to ban YouTube being reconsidered at higher levels. He writes:

Thanks to you all and the amazing response, it seems the Ministry people are realizing their blunder […]And now I got confirmation that the Minister himself has convened with his department heads and rescinded the order.
Thank you al-Jarida and thank you bloggers of Kuwait :)

Writing in Arabic, Jandeef argues:

شبكة الانترنت فيها مواد تعليمية واقتصادية وتجارية وثقافية، لكن فيها مواقع إرهابية وإباحية وعنصرية وغيرها … ليش ما تمنعونها؟
السكين يمكن استخدامها لتقطيع تفاحة وقص كيكة عيد ميلاد وأكل ستيك، لكن هناك من يقتل الناس فيها … ليش ما تمنعونها؟
السيارة وسيلة نقل وفي بعض الأحيان وسيلة كشخة، ولكن هناك من يستخدمها للسرقة
والتهريب، وأحياناً تتسبب بإصابة أحد أو فقد حياته … ليش ما تمنعونها؟

The Internet has educational, economic, commercial and cultural material, but it also carries terrorist, immoral and racial material… why don't you ban it?
A knife can be used to cut an apple or a birthday cake, as well as for eating steak, but there are people who use it to kill… why don't you ban it?
A car is a means of transportation and sometimes it is a means of showing off. But there are some who use it rob others and smuggle, and sometimes it is causes injuries and kills people… why don't you ban it?

Jordanian Moey, who visits Kuwait regularly, urges the authorities:

Why block the website? I’m not sure if any of you remember, they blocked anything +18 in Yahoo groups 2 years back, and YouTube has an option that allows users to report offensive content.

Please don’t go nuts like Syria and block YouTube and Facebook?

And Frankom rants:

الخبر نازل بالجرايد اليوم

مبروك علينا دولة الديموقراطية والحرية

مبروك علينا ناس مثل الكندري مدير الرقابة

مبروك علينا وزير مايعرف وين الله قاطه

مبروك علينا شركات ماتدافع عن العملاء

مبروك علينا كلنا هذا النعيم

الى الخلف يا كويت

The news is in the newspapers today.
Congratulations on us being in the country of democracy and freedom
Congratulations on us having people like Al Kindiri as the head of censorship
Congratulations on us having a minister who doesn't know where he is
Congratulations on us having companies which don't stand up for their clients
Congratulations on us for living in all this prosperity
March backwards, Kuwait

Kuwait to block Youtube over anti-Muslim videos

Sami Ben Gharbia — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:23:37 +0000

Update: YouTube Ban Lifted.

Scan of the memo. Source: Aljarida.com

The Kuwait Ministry of Communications has issued an order to local ISPs denying access to Youtube due to video content considered offensive to Muslims and Islam. Here is a translation by Reuters:

Since the website displays the Koran in the form of songs sung with the oud (stringed instrument) … and displays disrespectful pictures of the Prophet Mohammad … please proceed with immediate effect in blocking the website www.youtube.com

According to Aljarida.com, Youtube users activities represent 15% of all the internet traffic in Kuwait. The Kuwait Times reports that “A search of the word ‘Kuwait' turned up 59,000 videos [on Youtube], including everything from videos of car crashes on Fahaheel Expressway and Jessica Simpson's concert for US troops in Kuwait to protests in front of Abdullah Al-Salem hall in the run up to the 2006 parliamentary elections.“

Youtube is being blocked in Tunisia, Turkey and Syria. See our Access Denied Map for more information about web 2.0 censorship and anti-censorships efforts.

No to Kuwait's New Internet Law

Abdullatif AlOmar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:18:55 +0000

Kuwaiti bloggers are angry at a proposed new Internet Law, which they claim would make their days as free bloggers numbered, after Attorney General Hamad Al Othman announced that a new law dealing with Internet crimes will be issued soon.

According to Kuwaiti Arab Times:

Hamed Al-Othman says in an interview with Al-Qabas daily published Sunday he has prepared a bill that criminalizes promoting vice, incitement against the country’s leadership, divulging state secrets, or insulting Islam on the Web. If convicted, offenders would be sentenced to up to one year in jail and/or a fine, but face seven years in prison if their victims are minors.

Kuwait's bloggers are unhappy with what they see as new restrictions against freedom of expression.

Blogger Forzaq8 warns that two clauses in the draft law are likely to “throw most internet users in jail.” He says the first deals with the unlawful use of the Internet and the second with unlawful distribution of research and literary work.

“going to setup my bag for couple of prison terms,” jokes the blogger.

Writing in Arabic, As you like posts a few useful tips for bloggers to protect themselves from the impending law. He says:

1.
شـيل الوقت من تعليقات الزوار، وخل التاريخ بس،
2.
إستخدم نظام النشر المجدول لنشر المواضيع، يعني عندك موضوع، حط الوقت بعد ساعة وافصل الانترنت والبلوقر مايقصر ينشره بعد ساعة. (طبقوهـا)
3.
تجاوب مع المراسلين عبر البريد الإلكتروني للإستفسارات، والسوالف سو لها ايميل ثاني.
4.
عشان ماتحط بذمتك شي حط هالكلمة تحت بمدونتك: التعليقات بالمدونة ليس بالضرورة تمثل رأي المدونة، يعني قطها برأس اللي يعلقون وفك عمرك.
5.
اذا صـادوك “الربع”، النكـران طريق البراءة، حاول محط الـC والهادريسكات الأخرى “فورمات” واطلع سالم.
6.
اذا تحرشت بشيخ، او طويل عمر، أو تاجر، استخدم النغزات .. ترا القراء اذكياء، يفهمونها وهي طايرة، أو خلهم يفسرونها زي ماهما عاوزين.
7.
اذا سألوك: أنت مدون ؟، خل جوابك على طول: شنو مدون ؟ طبعاً اذا انت مسوي مصيبة .. راح يحوشك طراق ماتدري من منو .. راح يسألك: انت مدون ؟ .. جاوب: لأ ياسعادة البيه .. لأ لأ لأ !
8.
حاول استخدام كلمة “الله يطول بعمره” مع ذكر اي شخص -شيخ تاجر مواطن مدون- اثناء التحقيق.
9.
عندما يذكر جاسم وناصر الخرافي أو احمد الفهد أو محمد شرار أو طلال الفهد أو محمد العبدالله أو حتى علي الخليفه قول: الله يكثر من امثالهم، ويحفظهم للبلد .. جنك مو داري شنو الطبخة.
10.
خل مدونتك تهتم بشؤون العائلة والطبخ .. ابرك لك وانفع لهذه الامة .. رحمة للحكومة والمجلس.

1. Remove the time from the comments, and leave the date in only.
2. Use auto publishing to post on blogs. This means, if you want to write something, programme it to be published after an hour and disconnect your Internet and disconnect from Blogger in the meanwhile.
3. Interact with commentators via email for queries and have another email to deal with other issues.
4. In order to free yourself from any liabilities, post the following disclaimer on your blog: Comments on this blog don't unnecessarily reflect the blogger's opinions. Let the responsibility fall on the commentators heads.
5. If you are caught, remember that denial is your path towards innocence. Format your hard disk.
6. If you want to write anything against a member of the Ruling Family or a merchant, use symbols. Readers are smart and will understand what you are talking about. Or you can leave them to reach their own conclusions as they please.
7. If they ask you whether you are a blogger, answer immediately: “What is a blogger?” And of course, if you have committed a calamity, they will find other ways to question you with. They will tell you: “You are a blogger.” You will have to answer them: “No No No Sir!”
8. During your investigation, always refer to members of the Ruling Family, normal people or even bloggers you are asked about with the prefix “May God Prolong their Lives.” When the names Jassim and Naser Al Khurafi, Ahmed Al Fahad, Mohammed Al Sharar, Talal Al Fahad, Mohammed Al Abdulla or even Ali Al Khalifa are mentioned, you will have to say: “May God create more people like them and protect them for Kuwait” - as if you have no idea what is happening.
10. Focus on issues like family affairs and cooking on your blog as it will be better for you and the welfare of this society and also better for the Government and the Parliament.

Blogger Muwathaf is also incensed by the new guidelines. He writes:

تجريم تجريم تجريم
يا حب هذا الديره للتجريم
انا اتمنى لو الحكومه تحاول تطبق 50% من قوانينها
ما راح تقدر لأن فجأه راح تحتاج فوق 50000 كويتى كلهم يتمتعون بالضبطيه القضائيه
و بالمناسبه عن الضبطيه القضائيه
هل فى احصائيه حق منو عنده ضبطيه قضائيه لاننا كأننا متوسعين فيها
لما يطبق القانون سالف الذكر هل راح يصادرون الكمبيوترات فى البيوت ؟
و يطلعون رخص مثل كوبا ؟
العالم يطلع الى الامام و احنا نقحص ورا
نص هذه الجرائم لا يمكن اثباتها
و إلا كانوا الامريكان سابقينكم

Criminalizing, criminalizing, criminalizing!
This country likes to criminalize everything. I wish the government could enforce even 50 per cent of its laws. They cannot do that because they will suddenly need over 50,000 Kuwaitis all with the judicial apprehension authority! Does anyone even know how many people have that because I think we are over using it? When they enforce that law, will they confiscate computers from homes? And will they issue permits like in Cuba? The world is moving forwards and we are racing backwards. Half those crimes cannot be proven in court. Otherwise, the Americans would have beaten us in issuing this law.

Another blogger, Krakatoa notes that the new draft is unclear and needs explanation. He points:

انون الأنترنت المشار اليه اليوم في صحيفة القبس و المزمع تطبيقه قانون تأخر جدا في الصدور..فبعد حوالي الإحدى عشر سنة من دخول الإنترنت رسميا الى الكويت يتم رفع مثل هذا القانون الى الجهات المعنية للموافقة عليه ولكن وكما يقال في في الامثال , It's Better Late Than Never ، وعليه فإن القارى العادي للقانون سيلاحظ ان القانون بشكل عام قد غطى جوانب مايسمى بــ ( جرائم الانترنت ) بشكل شبه شامل ولكن تغافل او عن تحديد بعض الامور المبهمه وتركها عائمه لحكم من لديه سلطه الضبط ..قد تكون خيره وقد لا تكون كذلك..فهي من ناحية خيرة ان مياعة بعض مواد هذا القانون تسمح بالتحرك ضمن الإطر القانونية مع المتهم بشكل يسمح ان يتم او لايتم ادانته بمعنى ان بعض المواد من الممكن ان ( يزرق ) فيها البعض تحت بند العدم وضوح، ولكن وفي الناحية الأخرى نرى ان عدم الوضوح قد يؤدي بمستخدم الأنترنت الى المرور بحالة اشبه ما تكون العبور بحقل الغام لا تعلم اين يكون اللغم ومتى سينفجر بك.

The Internet Law which was mentioned in Al Qabas today comes a bit too late. After 11 years of having the Internet officially in Kuwait, we have a draft law awaiting approval. But it is better late than never. An average reader of the new proposals will realise that the new draft covers what is referred to as Internet crimes in general but has left in a lot of ambiguous issues, which were left floating and at the disposal of those with judicial authority. This may be something good or it may not be. What is good is that some of the clauses will allow some of the accused to manoeuvre within the law, which may or may not find him guilty because of the vagueness of its clauses. However, this confusion may lead Internet users to feel as if they are going through an area full of land mines, which they will not know when they could detonate.

نقطة اسرار الدولة..هنا لدي بعض التحفظ او لنقل محاولة الإستفهام عليها حيث ينص القانون على ( عاقب القانون كل من يحاول افشاء ما يدور في اي اجتماع رسمي او ما هو محرر من وثائق او مستندات او مراسيم او اي اوراق او مطبوعات يقرر الدستور او القانون سريتها وعدم نشرها)..استفساري هو هل تعتبر المراسلات الحكومية بين الدوائر والوزارات الحكومية واقصد المراسلات العادية والتي تحتوى في طياتها بعض الامور التي تبين او توضح ان هناك مثلا سوء استغلال للسلطه او شبه مالية او محاولة تنفيع ويجب فضحها او الإبلاغ عنها هل تعتبر سرية ومن ضمن المواد المنصوص عليها في القانون ام تدخل في نطاق الشؤون القانونية في الوزارة او الدائرة الخاصة بها؟؟!!!

The clause about state secrets is something I have reservations against or let's say, some queries. The clause stipulates that the law will punish anyone who exposes what happens in an official meeting or in documents, procedures or publications, which the Constitution and the Law deem secret and off the record. My question is are government communications between departments or ministries, and I mean normal communications which highlight abuse of power, financial fraud or other irregularities, considered state secrets?

White Wings from is there light presents a number of scenarios such as the following:

لنفترض اني مسافرة أمريكا، وكتبت بوست من هناك “فشيت” فيه أسرار الدولة الكويتية
أو اني أمتلك جواز سفر بريطاني، ونويت (والأعمال بالنيات) أن أكتب بوستي الى أحرض فيه على قلب نظام الحكم بصفتي البريطانية
أو اني كنت في السفارة القبرصية في الكويت وكتبت بوست”يزدري الدستور” من مبناهم الذي يعتبر أرض قبرصية
أواني طبعت بوست وأنا على طيران الخليج في طريقي للكويت، وقمت وأهنت القضاء قبل لا ندخل الحدود الكويتية
أو اني أهنت القضاء قبل لا ننزل المطار
أو اني أهنت القضاء بعد ما نزلنا للمطار
ولما وصلت البيت وضعت البوست على “الشبكة العنكبوتية”

Let's assume that I am travelling to the US, and while I was there, I wrote a post which exposed the Kuwaiti state secrets, and I hold a British passport, and I was thinking of writing a post which called for a revolution against the rule, or that I was in the Cypriot Embassy in Kuwait, and wrote a post which mocks the Constitution, from their building which is considered under Cyprus's jurisdiction, or I had posted an article while I was on board Gulf Air (an airline) on route to Kuwait, and in it I insulted the Kuwaiti judiciary, before landing at the airport, and posted it on the world wide web when I got home [….]

هل يقع أيا منا في الحالات السابقة تحت طائلة قانون مكافحة جرائم الانترنت؟؟
أفيدونا أفادكم الله وأحسنوا النية
ما عندي أسرار أفشيها، ونظام الحكم عاجبني والقضاء على راسي
الأسئلة الواردة افتراضية من أجل التوضيح والمساعدة كي تأخذ العدالة مجراها

Are any of the above cases covered by the Internet Crime Prevention Law Please let me know for I have no secrets I want to expose, the system of rule is something I admire and the judiciary are a source of pride. The questions I raise are hypothetical and I am asking just to understand and help in making justice find its way.

Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh released!

Sami Ben Gharbia — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:05:46 +0000

It has been reported that Bashar Al-Sayegh, the Kuwaiti blogger who has been arrested earlier this week for comment posted by an anonymous on his forum, has been released.