Kuwait City: A Kuwait court on Monday sentenced three members of the Al Sabah ruling family and four others to jail terms for insulting the emir and the judiciary on the internet.
The court sentenced the three royals and two others to five years imprisonment each. A sixth man was jailed for a year, while the court handed down a 10-year term to a seventh man in absentia.
The ruling family members include Shaikh Athbi Al Fahad Al Sabah, a nephew of the Gulf state’s emir and the former head of the secret police.
He is also the younger brother of international sports figure Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah.
The defendants remain free on bail.
They were among 13 people charged with using WhatsApp and Twitter to insult the emir and publish false news accusing judges of accepting bribes, the court ruled.
Also convicted was Shaikh Khalifa Ali Al Sabah, the editor of Al Watan newspaper and television which were closed by the government for violating corporate finance rules in a decision ratified by the courts.
Another six men were acquitted.
The rulings are not final as they can still be challenged in the Appeals and Supreme courts.
