Trial of Mohamed al-Jassem adjourned

Kuwait City’s criminal court decided on 20 September to adjourn until 18 October the trial of journalist and writer Mohamed Abdel Qader al-Jassem on a suit brought against him by Kuwaiti minister, Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad. The court thus accepted a defence request that it interview the emir’s son about the reasons for his complaint. The minister, son of the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and Minister of the Ruler’s Court brought a case against the journalist for “attacking the standing of the Emir” in articles critical of government policy that were posted on his blog (www.aljasem.org). The court yesterday also agreed to adjourn until 12 October a case brought against the same journalist by the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohamed, for insulting him and “inciting the overthrow of the regime”. This suit related to public criticism made by the journalist at a seminar, on 21 October 2009 in a speech entitled, “Who is responsible for the bad management of the country: the government or the council? The case was one of a total of four the prime minister brought against him. Abdel Qader al-Jassem was acquitted in two of them and a fourth is due to go to trial on 27 September. The journalist and writer has also had 11 cases brought against him by businessman Mahmoud Haydar, the newspaper al-Dar and al-Adliya television. He was cleared in six cases and four are ongoing. Mohamed Abdel Qader al-Jassem has twice served prison sentences: 12 days in November 2009 and 49 days in May and June 2010. He was released on bail on 28 June 2010.