Former Kuwaiti MP Walid Al Tabtabai sentenced to four years over controversial tweet
He argued controversial tweet was ‘digitally manipulated by his adversaries to frame him’
Dubai: The Kuwaiti Criminal Court on Monday sentenced former MP Walid Al Tabtabai to 4 years in prison in a state security case, after accusing him of writing a tweet that violated the law, considered an interference in the powers of the country’s emir.
The tweet in question was posted on the social media platform “X”, where Al Tabtabai expressed his commitment to defending the freedoms and constitutional rights of the Kuwaiti people.
This came shortly after the Emir’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and suspend certain constitutional articles — a move that Al Tabtabai criticized, pledging to resist what he termed as encroachments on public liberties.
During the court proceedings, Al Tabtabai refuted the charges, arguing that the controversial tweet was digitally manipulated by his adversaries to frame him.
He maintained that the tweet was a product of Photoshop and not his own words.
This is not Al Tabtabai’s first encounter with legal troubles; he previously served time for his involvement in forcibly entering the National Assembly in November 2011, a conviction for which he was later pardoned by the late Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad.
Al Tabtabai was released from Central Prison on December 19, 2019, after the late Emir granted a pardon that excused the remainder of his sentence following an apology and petition by Al Tabtabai.