Manama: A court in Kuwait on Sunday sentenced a former lawmaker to three years in prison for insulting members of a local tribe.
Former MP Mohammad Al Juwaihal was also asked to pay a 2,000 Kuwati dinar (Dh26,076) fine for the insults he posted on his Twitter account against the Mutair tribe.
However, the former lawmaker, a highly controversial figure who has had several stand-offs with Kuwaiti tribesmen, has repeatedly denied the charge and insisted that he did not have an account on the microblog.
Another person had usurped his name and set up the account to post disparaging remarks and insults, he said.
The public prosecutor submitted his case to the criminal court in September on charges of insulting the Mutair tribe, misusing his mobile phone to post insults on the microblog and possessing a firearm and ammunition without acquiring a licence.
Al Juwaihal was elected to parliament on February 3 last year, but his membership ended when the legislative house was dissolved after the Constitutional Court ruled that the decree calling for the elections was unconstitutional.
His campaign tent was set ablaze on January 30 by an angry crowd after he attacked another candidate Abid Al Wasmi Al Mutairi and the Mutair tribe in a fiery speech.
