Qatar: Poet released with royal pardon after Al-Ajman leader intercedes

Poet Mohammed Rashid Al-Ajami was freed from prison and pardoned on 15 March. Ajmi received a 15-year prison sentence in 2011 for reciting a poem, broadcast on YouTube, in support of the Arab Spring uprisings. Possibly reflecting international pressure, the announcement came just as the Art for Tomorrow conference, organised in Doha by The New York Times, ended and before the International Press Institute was due to begin its world congress in the Qatari capital. Al-Ajami – also known as Ibn Al-Dheeb – was found guilty of incitement to overthrow the Emir by the Criminal Court in Doha in a 2012 trial that critics said was marred by irregularities.