Kuwait: Hamad Al-Naqi

On 28 October, Kuwait’s Court of Appeals upheld a ten-year prison sentence handed out in June 2012 to blogger Hamad Al-Naqi for comments he made on Twitter that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed (GSN 926/6, 924/5). Al-Naqi, who was 26 at the time of his initial trial, was also accused of insulting the kings of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and of provoking sectarian tensions. He has always denied the charges, and told police his Twitter account was hacked.