Kuwaiti politician jailed for five years for insulting emir: lawyer
Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, waves as he leaves the Kuwait Central Jail in Sulaibiya November 1, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Stephanie Mcgehee
KUWAIT | Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:23am EDT
(Reuters) - A prominent Kuwaiti opposition politician was sentenced to five years in jail on Monday for insulting the country's ruler, his lawyer said, in a decision that could increase tension in the oil exporter and U.S. Arab ally.
The court found Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, guilty of insulting Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah in a speech in October last year in which he appealed to the emir to avoid "autocratic rule".
(Reporting by Mahmoud Harby, writing by Sami Aboudi)
