User:Kuwaitblogger/sandbox

Sulaiman Bin Jassem is a Kuwaiti human rights activist who specializes in the area of freedom of expression. Binjassem has participated in numerous forums and rallies both in Kuwait and internationally on the subject and has been targeted by the Kuwaiti Government for his activity. He was tried twice for protesting the infringements of the Kuwaiti Government on the freedom of expression and political freedoms. Bin Jassem is a founding member of the National Committee for Monitoring Human Rights Violations, is recognized as an activist by Front Line Defenders, and has worked with other international organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Gulf Center for Human Rights.

On April 17, 2013, Sulaiman was brutally assaulted and abducted by the riot police while he was covering a protest against police violations during and attempt to arrest the opposition leader and former MP Musallam Al Barak. This unlawful detainment of the activist drew criticism from human rights organizations hrw.org/news/sulaiman-binjassim https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/780 as well as the US State Department state.gov/2013/kwt. Bin Jassem was later tried and sentenced to one month in prison on October 9, 2014. He served 3 days of his sentence before being acquitted by the Court of Appeals.

Sulaiman Bin Jassem was also sentenced to 7 years in prison in a separate case that's known in Kuwait as "Storming the Parliament" case. The case involved 69 defendants including 11 MPs and former MPs https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kuwait-court-parliament. The Court of Cassation later refused to declare a verdict in Bin Jassem's case and released him from prison, while handing down varying jail sentences for 16 other defendants https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/1906. Sulaiman Spent 83 days in jail, during which he declared Hunger strike that went on for more than a week in protest of unfair trial and imprisonment https://twitter.com/FrontLineHRD/status/951094034365341697.