Fine quashed by court in defamation case

Jaber Al-Hamoud

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 10: The Criminal Court nullified a ruling that fined a Kuwaiti man KD 2,000 in absentia for allegedly posting a statement considered offensive to a compatriot on Instagram, and concluded the case was not within its jurisdiction.

The Public Prosecution charged the defendant for publicly defaming the plaintiff, implying that the post made on Instagram by the defendant degraded and defamed the latter. He was also accused of misusing smartphone and social media.

Defense Lawyer Mohammad Al-Husseini disagreed with the prosecution saying the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, because the allegations were not considered criminal. He explained that his client only reacted to previous statements made by the plaintiff, which his client found embarrassing, indicating there were insufficient grounds to convict his client.

Hearing adjourned:

The Criminal Court adjourned to March 5 the case filed against blogger Abdullah Al-Hadlaq who was accused of violating the national unity law and misusing his smartphone.

Lawyer Jaleel Al-Tabbakh and religious consultant Ibrahim AlBahrani had filed the case with the Cybercrime Unit of the Public Prosecution due to the alleged offensive post made by Al-Hadlaq on his Twitter account concerning Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib. They insisted that the blogger violated article 1 of decree No. 19/2012 related to protection of national unity, and articles 209 and 210 of the Penal Act.