Kuwait, UAE sentence Twitter users to jail

Twitter users in two Persian Gulf Arab states were sentenced to prison, in the latest sign of widening crackdowns on activists, who use social media. A Kuwaiti court sentenced Musaab Shamsah to five years in prison on Monday for posting an insulting Twitter message in May, according to Associated Press. In the second 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 accused 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. Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, three lawyers are facing trial over social media posts allegedly criticizing authorities.