Qatari poet life sentence reduced to 15 years
Mohammad al-Ajami
is a poet in Qatar. Last year he was sentenced to LIFE in prison for
inciting the overthrow of the government and insulting Qatar's rulers.
This week his Life sentence was reduced to fifteen years. The case against Mr Ajami is said to be based on a poem he
wrote in 2010 which criticized the Emir, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani. But
activists believe the authorities were angered by a 2011 poem he wrote about
authoritarian rule in the region.
Words
can be powerful but he shouldn’t be in prison for this. Thank goodness we have freedom of
speech.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21572072
I read articles where people in other countries are put in jail for expressing their opinions and it makes me happy I have this right. But there needs to be a global change: people should be able to express their opinions freely and without punishment, even if it is against a religion, government or culture.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was a bit extreme to talk about overthrowing the government in poetry if you live in an area where freedom of speech is not a rite. I do support what he did though to speak his mind in a way that many people could understand.
ReplyDelete