CAIRO: The Cairo-based pan-Arab rights organization the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) on Wednesday issued a statement of concern regarding the Kuwaiti Criminal Court's renewal of detaining a journalist in the country. According to ANHRI, a criminal court in the Gulf kingdom has retained custody of Mohamed al-Jassim until a scheduled June 7 court date. Jassim is accused of “insulting the prince and disseminating false news that would undermine the dignity of the state.” All charges brought against him are a result of opinion articles he had written, ANHRI said in a press statement. “ANHRI expressed surprise concerning the decision of the Kuwaiti Attorney General to ban publishing on the case of Al Jassim, despite the lack of reasons to issue such a resolution,” the press statement said. The organization is worried over the resolution from the government, “which may become the first step for judicial authorities to restrict freedom of the press and expression in Kuwait. ”The Attorney General was quite responsive in issuing the publication ban decision on a public opinion case that could put freedom of expression and press in Kuwait on the line, while the court gave a deaf ear to prosecute the police officer who threatened Al-Jassim. “The Arabic Network sees that the public prosecution in most Arab countries is loyal to the government more than to judiciary, and the decision to ban publishing on the case raises a lot of doubts about the just of this trial and the intervention of the Kuwaiti government against the journalist.” ANHRI and other international rights organizations have called on the Kuwaiti government to release the writer. ANHRI has demanded the prosecution cancel the decision to ban newspapers and journalists from reporting on the case “so as not to become an obstacle to the right of Kuwaiti citizens to be updated on a case of public interest and not to seize the right of the Kuwaiti people to information.” BM
