Kuwaiti Activist Jailed 10 Years for Petrol Bomb Tweet

A Kuwaiti court Tuesday sentenced an opposition activist to 10 years in jail for publishing a diagram on Twitter showing how a petrol bomb is made, the court ruling said.

The court convicted Sager al-Hashash of inciting attacks on policemen, providing training on the manufacture of Molotov cocktails, taking part in an unlicenced protest, and disobeying police orders.

The charges were based on a tweet Hashash sent in July showing a diagram on Molotov cocktails which explained how they are made.

The ruling, which can still be appealed, was issued in absentia because he is not currently in Kuwait.

Hashash, a young activist, was handed a 20-month jail term in January for allegedly insulting the oil-rich emirate's ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Kuwaiti courts have handed down prison sentences to several opposition activists and former lawmakers for remarks deemed insulting to the emir as well as other charges.