Kuwait decided to step up its crackdown on freedom of speech and now has its eye on the Internet. The Gulf kingdom said it is adding new laws to criminalize insulting God and religion, including comments written on the Internet, including social networking sites. Media Minister Mohamed al-Mubarak al-Sabah said Thursday that the kingdom will issue laws this year to “regulate” the usage of social websites such as Twitter and Facebook and prevent attacks on religion and minimize “sectarian tension.” The minister added that the government is currently working on laws that will allow different governmental agencies to monitor and regulate the usage of such social networks “for the sake of the unity of the Kuwaiti people,” he was quoted by reports. Parliament is to vote on Thursday on implementing the law that calls for stiffening penalties upon those who criticize God, Islam's Prophet Mohammed, his wives, which could see the death penalty a possible sentence. The Kuwaiti National Assembly passed the law on April 12, confirming the capital punishment to those insulting or criticizing God, the Prophet or any of his wives, especially from the Muslim community in the country, according to Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). A number of assembly members asked for consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Muslim scholars over the law first, before implementing it. “This law pulls freedom of opinion and expression a hundred steps back in Kuwait, as it will restrict freedom of expression significantly, and will make all citizens threatened with death, based on their opinions and what they write, as on the other hand the law can be used by authorities to get rid of opponents, as it's a vague expansion of the use of the words, such as daring or abuse,” ANHRI in a statement following the law's announcement. The Egypt-based network confirmed that a number of Kuwaiti citizens are currently on trial for “insulting the Prophet” and feared that they could be facing the death penalty if the law is implemented. Kuwaiti writer Mohammed Al Mollif was sentenced to 7 years in prison and a fine of $18,000 on April 9 for “abusing the doctrine of Shia” by writing comments about the Prophet and his wives on his personal Twitter account. In his case, the court recently ruled to transfer the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony in a process aiming at escalating the punishment. In the Muslim country about half a million non-Muslims live in Kuwait for work purposes.
