Name: Ayyad al-Harbi

Date of Birth: 1987

Occupation: Journalist & activist in Kuwaiti mobility

Country: Kuwait

Current state: sentenced to 2 years in prison. He has served 258 days so far.

Ayyad al-Harbi is a Kuwaiti journalist and activist, who writes for the newspaper “Sabr”. The Kuwaiti authorities arrested him on Thursday, October 22, 2014, to implement a two-year in prison sentence issued against him on account of a tweet that was deemed, by the court, an affront to the Emir. On May 22, 2014, following a series of trials, the court of appeal ordered the imprisonment of al-Harbi; however, the judgment has not been implemented that time because al-Harbi challenged the constitutionality of Article 25 of Law no. 31/1970 as false. Thus, the court stayed the execution, released him on bail of KWD 1000 (US$ 3300), and banned him from travelling until ruling on the constitutional challenge. On 5 April 2015, a Kuwaiti court issued its final two-year in prison sentence against al-Harbi.

Al-Harbi is among more than 160 victims of being unfairly accused of insulting the Emir (the Prince). This indictment criminalizes any criticism of the Kuwaiti Emir, in violation of the values of freedom of expression that has become something of the past in Kuwait.

The accusation of reposting a tweet for the Iraqi poet Ahmed Matar, which slammed Arab rulers, has widely and ridiculously shared by activists, as the court deemed reposting a tweet gives the impression of consent and the defendant intends to insult the Emir. So, Ayyad al-Harbi has become a “prisoner of reposting”.

Noteworthy, al-Harbi is a young activist in the Kuwaiti mobility, and he was honored with a memorial shield in the British capital, London, on the World Press Freedom Day in 2013, as he was being held in jail at that time.

During his detention, al-Harbi was beaten and threatened. He was physically assaulted in the Kuwaiti Central Prison, whereas they tied his hands and legs, and then they threw him in the prison’s corridor for several hours, as reported by activists on Twitter and the independent Kuwaiti newspaper “Sabr”.

Likely, the newspaper said that there are some recommendations by the prison’s head to mistreat al-Harbi. It also referred that al-Harbi was being threatened, every now and then, with transferring to a solitary confinement called “Al-Saga”, which is infamous for torturing prisoners.

The activists on Twitter have reacted to the news and launched the hashtag #تعذيب_عياد_الحربي_في_السجن (in English #Torturing_Ayyad_alharbi_in_Prison) and another one #ضرب_عياد_الحربي (in English #Beating_Ayyad_alharbi). They expressed their anger and condemnation of the mistreatment that al-Harbi sustained in the prison; carrying the Minister of Interior the responsibility. Others, however, believed that the all will sustain such mistreatment in case they would not set a sit-in.

What can you do?

1-       Send an email to the office of Kuwaiti Emir on (amirsoffice@da.gov.kw ), urging him to release “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

2-       Send an email to Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Minister of The Amiri Diwan Affairs, calling on him to release “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

3-       Send an email to Deputy Amiri Diwan Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah on d.minister@da.gov.kw; calling on him to release “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

4-       Send an email to the deputy Amiri Diwan  on wakeel@da.gov.kw; calling on him to set “Ayyad al-Harbi” free.

5-       Send an email to the manager of the Emir’s office on a.alfahad@da.gov.kw; calling on him to release “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

6-       Send on the email of Amiri Diwan info@da.gov.kw; urging the release of “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

7-       Send fax to the Amiri Diwan on 22430559 965+; urging the release of “Ayyad al-Harbi”.

8-        Write a letter to the Amiri Diwan, calling for the release of Ayyad al-Harbi, on the following address: Al Diwan Al Amiri, Sief Palace – Building 100
State of Kuwait, or P.O.Box: 1 – Safat – 13001, State of Kuwait.

9-       Send an email to the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights (urgent-action@ohchr.org).

10-    Publish images of Ayyad al-Harbi and some information about him on your Facebook & Twitter accounts and use this hashtag #حريتهم_حقهم

11-   Send to newspapers in your country some information about al-Harbi and the unfair sentence against him.