Kuwait: Kuwaiti MP Abdulhamid Dashti has been sentenced in absentia to six more years in prison for defaming Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The Criminal Court found the fugitive convict guilty and handed him down a three-year jail term in each of the libel cases.
During the past few months, Dashti was handed jail terms totalling 25 years and six months in several cases for insulting Saudi Arabia, undermining the authority of the Amir and endangering Kuwaiti diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries.
The court tried him on charges of making statements deemed offensive to the two Gulf neighbors. The sentence was issued in absentia since Dashti has been living outside Kuwait since the start of the year.
With this new indictment, he now faces 31 years in prison as the Criminal Court convicted him in four out of five lawsuits lodged against him.
Dashti said the two new verdicts were null and void as they violated the constitution and Kuwaiti law. The lawmaker however cannot appeal against the rulings until he returns to the country in accordance with Kuwaiti law.
The former Kuwaiti MP still faces several other similar cases the verdicts of which are expected in the coming few months which are likely to increase his jail terms.
Even while abroad, pro-Iran Dashti has continued his attacks against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and has been following up on sectarian propaganda.