Kuwait: Shia Twitter User Arrested  · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

Never before in Kuwait has a Twitter user been arrested for what they wrote online until Nasser Abul (@NasserAbuL), a young Shia Kuwaiti, was detained three days ago.
Only once before, a Kuwaiti Twitter user called Mishari Buyabis (@mbuyabis) was questioned by state security police but not arrested, for his criticism of the government.
The news took the Kuwaiti cyber space by storm on the morning of June 10, 2011, suggesting that Abul was arrested by state security police for threatening national security and was not allowed to see his family or his lawyer.
Many tweeps from Kuwait have condemned this act saying it is illegal, but many unknown netizens complimented it since Abul is known for his Shia extremism using dirty language online and supporting the Syrian regime while criticizing the Bahraini and Saudi regimes. The situation, simply, was turned into an online sectarian war.
Picture of detaineed tweep Nasser Abul (in blue) taken from his Twitter account.
Kuwaiti writer and cartoonist Jafar Rajab (@jafarrajab) was one of the first to tweet Abul's arrest news. He condemned this act saying it violates freedom of expression (Ar):
قف مع ناصر ابل ليس دفاعا عن ارائه او توجهه بل دفاعا عن حقه في ابداء الراي!
Kuwaiti activist, blogger, and columnist Dhari Al-Jutaili (@Dhari_) has also refused what happened to Abul saying:
الموضوع مو ان ناصر ابل بطل والا لا، تتفق معاه والا لا .. كلش مو مهم .. المبدأ ما يصير شخص يعتقل لآرائه ويظل أيام محد يدري عنه
Kuwaiti Shia parliament member Hassan Jawhar (@HasanJohar) wrote a tweet against arresting Abul, asking the minister of interior affairs to set him free.
اعتقال المغرد ناصر أبل انتهاك صارخ لحرية التعبير عن الرأي ولا يجوز استمرار احتجازه دون تهمة وعلى وزير الداخلية تحمل مسؤولياته في هذا الشأن
Kuwaiti tweep Ahmad AlHendal (@ahmadhendal) found the arrest of Abul as a tool using Kuwaiti youth to cause the downfall of the prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed.
هل هي حركة اعتقال الشباب الكويتي جزء من مسلسل إحراج حكومة ناصر لدفعها للاسقاط ؟ هل الشباب الكويتي اصبح جزء من تصفية الحسابات؟
Another Kuwaiti tweep, Dr. Fawaz Farhan (@FawazFarhan) has written several tweets about the issue of Abul saying that the way Abul criticized the foreign regimes is his right.
من حقّي أن أنتقد أي نظام قمعي وأن أدعم الشعوب الحرة المنتفضة (كما فعلت حكومات الخليج مع الليبيين) وليس من حق الحكومات العربية تحديد ما أقوله
Tweep Salem Al-Ajmi (@engrsalemq8) wrote:
نحن نؤيد تطبيق القانون على ناصر أبل وليس التعسف في تطبيقه،يجب تحويله للنيابة للمحاكمة من غير الاطالة في امن الدولة،حتى لا تصبح عادة الاخرين
Kuwaiti graphic designer Mohammed Sharaf who has been known lately on Twitter for producing works to support different causes, worked on this piece to express his refusal for violating freedom of expression by arresting Abul:
Graphic work by @MohammadRSharaf against the arrest of Nasser Abul
Some tweeps have invited people to gather in front of the State Security police's building to demand the release of Nasser Abul and tweep Ali Khuraibit tweeted an unclear picture of the protest:
Picture of the protest demanding Abul's release posted by @Ali_Khuraibet