Publish Date: 19 November 2013 - 12:59

TEHRAN, Nov. 19 (MNA) – Twitter users in two Persian Gulf Arab states have been sentenced to prison, in the latest sign of extending crackdowns on activists, at social media. A Kuwaiti court jailed Musaab Shamsah for five years in prison on Monday for posting an insulting Twitter message in May, according to AP.

In the other case, Waleed al-Shehhi was jailed for two years and fined $137,000 in the United Arab Emirates for a message posted in May about the trial of 94 men blamed of links to an armed group, Arab media reported.

Authorities said the message violated state security. In July, 69 of the defendants were convicted of trying to overthrow the state. There was no immediate comment from authorities in either country on the cases. Also in Saudi Arabia, three lawyers face trial over social media posts allegedly criticizing authorities.

Source: Alalam

MNA

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