Kuwaiti man jailed for Twitter posts

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KUWAIT CITY, April 10 (UPI) -- A Kuwaiti writer was sentenced to seven years in prison for writing messages on Twitter that allegedly offended Shiites, officials said.

Mohammad al-Mulaifi was found guilty of insulting the Shiite faith. He was also accused of disseminating false information and attacking a lawmaker, the Kuwait Times reported Monday.

Mulaifi, who is Sunni, was arrested in February after complaints by lawmakers who accused him of trying to undermine the government.

"Everyone should know that doctrines are red lines and whoever crosses them will cause internal strife that may have a negative impact on the country and weaken national unity," Member of Parliament Saleh Ashour was quoted as saying.