COURT UPHOLDS EXTREMIST HAMAD AL-ALI'S SENTENCE;

UNCLAS KUWAIT 002607 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI AND S/CT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV KJUS KU ISLAMISTS SUBJECT: COURT UPHOLDS EXTREMIST HAMAD AL-ALI'S SENTENCE; ATTORNEY ASKS FOR HIS RELEASE AND FOR MOI TO PAY HIM $17,000 REF: A. KUWAIT 2258 ¶B. KUWAIT 2174 ¶C. KUWAIT 1308 ¶1. (U) Kuwait's Supreme Court of Appeals (Mahkamah Al-Tameez) upheld on June 7 a two-year suspended sentence of Islamic extremist cleric Shaykh Hamad Abdullah Al-Ali (ref C). The court said that Al-Ali had violated the constitution by defaming Kuwaiti Amir Shaykh Jabir Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah during his sermons at a local mosque. Although Al-Ali's sentence was suspended when he paid a KD 1,000 (approx. USD 3,400) fine, the court reminded him that he faced a two-year jail sentence if he were found guilty of violating Kuwaiti laws within the next three years. ¶2. (U) Al-Ali was convicted on June 19, 2004 and sentenced to two years in jail for a variety of offenses: criticizing the Kuwaiti Amir's decision to allow foreign military forces to use Kuwaiti territory to launch a war on Iraq, describing Arab leaders as traitors and failures, calling for an unauthorized demonstration in support of Kuwaiti citizens detained in Guantanamo, and hosting a jihadist website that included links to bomb-making instructions. ¶3. (U) In a more recent and unrelated case, Al-Ali was detained and arrested in March by Kuwait State Security for allegedly collaborating with suspects involved in two January shoot-outs with security forces. He is currently detained and on trial for his involvement with the Peninsula Lions terror cell. Mubarak Al-Mutawa, one of Al-Ali's attorneys, said Al-Ali was innocent and requested on June 11 that his client be released and compensated with KD 5001 (approx. USD 17,000) by the Interior Ministry for being improperly detained and arrested (ref A). ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON