Kuwaiti man jailed over Mohammed tweets

A Twitter user in Kuwait has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of insulting the prophet Mohammed.

Musaab Shamsah was arrested after the tweet was interpreted as endorsing Shia beliefs in the Sunni-majority country.

His jailing is the latest among Gulf Arab nations in a widening crackdown on political commentary and other forms of expressions on social media.

In Saudi Arabia, three lawyers are facing trial over social media posts allegedly criticising authorities.

Meanwhile, a man was jailed in the United Arab Emirates for two years after being convicted on state security charges for Twitter posts in May about the trial of 94 people suspected of ties to an Islamist faction, which authorities claim seeks to undermine the country's ruling system.

AP