Qatari Man Gets Life in Prison for Poetry Critical of Emir

Today, a court in Qatar sentenced Mohamed ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami to life in prison, probably for his “Jasmine Poem.”

A court document, apparently with al-Ajami’s life sentence, being circulated online.

The charges, according to Reuters (via al-Ajami’s lawyer), were “incitement to overthrow the government and criticising the ruling emir.” Doha News said it remained unclear what al-Ajami was convicted of, but:

Gregg Carlstrom ‏@glcarlstrom: Confirmed to me by lawyer for Qatari poet Mohamed al-Ajami: sentenced to life today for charges reportedly including “insulting the emir.”
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Amnesty International said in October that “The prosecution’s case against him is reportedly based on a poem he wrote in 2010 criticising Qatar’s emir,” but it’s widely believed that the real reason is al-Ajami’s “Jasmine Poem,” which declares that “we are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive” regimes.
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According to Amnesty, Al-Ajami has one week to submit his appeal.
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