A few days ago, on the 30th of June 2010, the ruling of the misdemeanor court in Kuwait sentenced a young Kuwaiti citizen, Khaled Sanad Alfadala, who is the secretary general of the National Democratic Alliance, with three months of imprisonment and a fine of 150 KWD. The sentence they issued was a shock to the nation, being the first of its kind given to a citizen for speaking out his mind.
The story started months ago, when a group of Kuwaiti citizens came to the public and showed the frustration and the huge concerns of many towards the prime minister of Kuwait. The group, which was called "Leave, Kuwait deserves better" stood up in public and spoke their minds about the shocking reports showing huge amounts of money being spent by the prime minister's office, without labels or categories in which the payments were done, which sparked a huge controversy among both the political fields and the general population.
At that time, Khaled S. Alfadala took his own turn to speak. When he climbed on that stage and took the microphone, he couldn't help it but speak his mind, claiming that he thinks that these payments may have been related to money laundering, which might be true up until someone claims the opposite. The reports that were released mentioned amounts up to two and sometimes over four million KWD being spent over gifts and other means of "perfumes," which sparked a huge controversy and a lot of whispering between all the citizens wither he, Khaled, had the right to do so or not, "talking about a member of the ruling family."
Today, we're talking about the FIRST, yes the first Kuwaiti citizen to be jailed by the prime minister's defense team, claiming that Khaled cursed and disrespected the prime minister in public, while all he did is speak his mind out loud. A few days ago, the nation celebrated the release of a public figure and writer Mohammad Abdulqader Aljasem, who was jailed by the homeland security for what they said was a "disrespect of the ruler of Kuwait and giving the world a bad image of the country." But that celebration didn't last long.
Khaled S. Alfadala, is now in jail paying for a crime he never committed, paying for the price of speaking his mind in an Arabic nation, where corruption sometimes is a must. The youth and all the political parties made their claims that these charges, being the first of its kind with an imprisonment sentence, might be a start of a new era in Kuwait, the era of dictatorship and the collapse of democracy.
The Kuwaiti constitution states clearly that freedom of speech, research and thought is guaranteed to the citizens especially in its 36th article, along with the huge list of charges in the past concerning curses or bad use of words in public speeches or articles being no more than a fine of 5001 more or less KWD. This time it's different because it involves the prime minister, who is a member of the ruling family of Kuwait, which many think influenced the sentence.
"Article 36 [Freedom of Opinion and Expression]
Freedom of opinion and of scientific research is guaranteed. Every person has the right to express and propagate his opinion verbally, in writing, or otherwise, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by law." (Kuwait's Constitution).
When will he be released? And when can we speak our minds freely and without the fear of being jailed for doing so? Did the prime minister have an influence on the ruling judge? If so, can we ever trust the judgment system in Kuwait? Should we even question the judgment system and think its being corrupted or influenced?
All of the above questions stood up in my mind once I read the shocking news. And they will continue to stand up until it's all sorted out and the image is clarified.
The story started months ago, when a group of Kuwaiti citizens came to the public and showed the frustration and the huge concerns of many towards the prime minister of Kuwait. The group, which was called "Leave, Kuwait deserves better" stood up in public and spoke their minds about the shocking reports showing huge amounts of money being spent by the prime minister's office, without labels or categories in which the payments were done, which sparked a huge controversy among both the political fields and the general population.
At that time, Khaled S. Alfadala took his own turn to speak. When he climbed on that stage and took the microphone, he couldn't help it but speak his mind, claiming that he thinks that these payments may have been related to money laundering, which might be true up until someone claims the opposite. The reports that were released mentioned amounts up to two and sometimes over four million KWD being spent over gifts and other means of "perfumes," which sparked a huge controversy and a lot of whispering between all the citizens wither he, Khaled, had the right to do so or not, "talking about a member of the ruling family."
Today, we're talking about the FIRST, yes the first Kuwaiti citizen to be jailed by the prime minister's defense team, claiming that Khaled cursed and disrespected the prime minister in public, while all he did is speak his mind out loud. A few days ago, the nation celebrated the release of a public figure and writer Mohammad Abdulqader Aljasem, who was jailed by the homeland security for what they said was a "disrespect of the ruler of Kuwait and giving the world a bad image of the country." But that celebration didn't last long.
Khaled S. Alfadala, is now in jail paying for a crime he never committed, paying for the price of speaking his mind in an Arabic nation, where corruption sometimes is a must. The youth and all the political parties made their claims that these charges, being the first of its kind with an imprisonment sentence, might be a start of a new era in Kuwait, the era of dictatorship and the collapse of democracy.
The Kuwaiti constitution states clearly that freedom of speech, research and thought is guaranteed to the citizens especially in its 36th article, along with the huge list of charges in the past concerning curses or bad use of words in public speeches or articles being no more than a fine of 5001 more or less KWD. This time it's different because it involves the prime minister, who is a member of the ruling family of Kuwait, which many think influenced the sentence.
"Article 36 [Freedom of Opinion and Expression]
Freedom of opinion and of scientific research is guaranteed. Every person has the right to express and propagate his opinion verbally, in writing, or otherwise, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by law." (Kuwait's Constitution).
When will he be released? And when can we speak our minds freely and without the fear of being jailed for doing so? Did the prime minister have an influence on the ruling judge? If so, can we ever trust the judgment system in Kuwait? Should we even question the judgment system and think its being corrupted or influenced?
All of the above questions stood up in my mind once I read the shocking news. And they will continue to stand up until it's all sorted out and the image is clarified.
1 الـتـعـلـيـقـات:
things might not easily change if we have people who don't value their freedom to begin with!
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