NEW YORK: Kuwait's prime minister should withdraw charges against a writer accused of libel and slander and free him from prison immediately, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. Mohammad al-Jasim was sentenced to a year in jail on November 22, based on criticisms of the prime minister al-Jasim published on his blog in November 2009. Al-Jasim told Human Rights Watch after the court session that he would appeal the decision. He was allowed to go home after the court session, but that evening police officers came to his home and escorted him to prison. “Al-Jasim's conviction is one more assault on freedom of expression in Kuwait,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The court's decision flies in the face of human rights law, which prohibits governments from sending people to jail for nonviolent opinions.” The article upon which the prime minister's case is based accuses a local businessman close to the prime minister of supporting Iranian intelligence interests in Kuwait. Kuwait's parliament should amend all provisions of Kuwait's criminal law that permit imprisonment for libel and slander because criminal penalties place undue restrictions upon freedom of speech, Human Rights Watch said. The trial court in al-Jasim's case based its decision on article 209 of Kuwait's criminal code, which permits imprisonment for up to one year for publication of any statement causing damage to another person's honor. The published opinion stated that al-Jasim had violated the provision by “accusing the prime minister of negligence…and of pursuing an external regional agenda by allowing Iranian secret service interests to infiltrate Kuwait.” The court also found that al-Jasim's criticisms were “untrue.” A member of parliament, Aseel al-Awadhi, has called upon her fellow members to amend Kuwaiti law to remove criminal penalties for public statements of opinion. While international law permits some legal restrictions on free expression to protect people's reputations, there is particular freedom to criticize government officials in the performance of their duties. An April 2010 report issued by the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion stresses that “limitations on freedom of expression justified on the basis of the protection of other rights or the reputation of others… must not be used to protect the State and its officials from public opinion or criticism.” The special rapporteur further stated that, “No criminal or civil action for defamation should be admissible in respect of a civil servant or the performance of his or her duties.” In a different session on the same day, the court also reviewed a separate case lodged by the prime minister's office accusing al-Jasim of threatening state security. The judge in that case postponed the review until December 20. “Kuwaiti government officials need to accept that, as public servants, they will face criticism, fair and unfair, from all quarters,” Whitson said. “Government authorities have no business bringing criminal suits against individuals exercising their right to call them to account.” HRW
