Royal fined in defamation lawsuit
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KUWAIT CITY, April 27: The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the lower court which imposed fine of KD 1,000 on Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah and ordered him to pay temporary compensation of KD 5,001 in favor of retired Assistant Undersecretary of General Security Affairs Major General Abdul Fattah Al-Ali whom he accused of defamation and insult.
The incident dates back to last February when the two engaged in a bitter quarrel due to the presence of Al-Ali during the execution of the government’s order to close the printing press that published Al-Watan newspaper which completely shut down later. Al-Ali led the police team tasked to implement the government’s directive at the time.
Meanwhile, the Misdemeanor Court fined ex-MP Faisal Al-Mislem KD 150 over a Twitter post deemed offensive to Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad and ordered him to pay KD 5,001 temporary compensation in favor of the latter, although the court acquitted him of insulting Sheikh Nasser.
The Public Prosecution disclosed that a case was registered against the defendant on May 2, 2015 by detectives at a police station over a post on his Twitter account (@faisalalmuslem) against Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad. The tweet was regarded as malicious and defamatory, because it described the transfer of millions of dinars into accounts of some lawmakers by the plaintiff as corruption. The former MP was also accused of misusing mobile phone.
Man not guilty: The Court of Appeals presided over by Judge Ibrahim Al-Obaid overturned the verdict issued by the Court of First Instance which sentenced an individual to fouryear imprisonment with hard labor and ordered him to pay a fine of KD 1,000 for possessing and using hashish. The court instead refrained from penalizing the defendant. According to the case file, the suspect’s mother saw him in an intoxicated state and informed the concerned authorities. The in-charge officer said he was on regular patrol duty in the area when he was asked to go to the police station to check the suspect. During the court session, the defense counsel Lawyer Enam Haider insisted that the procedures followed for arresting and searching her client were illegal, requesting the court to acquit her client.
Dashti hearing May 18: The Criminal Court adjourned until May 18, 2016 the hearing on the case of MP AbdulHameed Dashti who has been accused of offending the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Previously, the Public Prosecution issued a warrant to arrest the MP, for him to stand trial in a case filed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Kuwait due to the statements he made in a television program in Syria as he allegedly offended the Kingdom and incited public opinion against it.
By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff
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