JournalismPakistan.com
January 08, 2013

KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwait newspaper says an online journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison for posts deemed "insulting" to the Gulf nation's ruler — the second such ruling this week.

The decision reflects a widening social media crackdown across the Gulf Arab states to quell perceived political dissent.

Kuwait's pro-government Al Watan newspaper reported that Ayyad al-Harbi, a journalist at news website Sabr, was charged with posting Twitter messages considered offensive to the nation's Western-allied emir. No other details were given.

On Sunday, Kuwaiti media said a social media activist also has received a two-year prison term for Twitter posts that allegedly insulted the emir.- AP