Al-Khaldi sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of insulting the Amir

The Court of Appeal has upheld four separate rulings issued by the Criminal Court sentencing Kuwaiti activist Salman Al Khalidi to five years in prison in each case after he was convicted of insulting the Amir, defaming the judiciary, and offending the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through statements and posts on social media.

With the appeal court confirming the verdicts, the total prison time in these four cases amounts to 20 years. Al-Khalidi also faces additional prison terms issued in earlier cases, including sentences of 15 years and 10 years, bringing his cumulative legal exposure to several decades behind bars. Reports Al-Rai daily.

Al-Khalidi, a Kuwaiti blogger and political activist, has faced multiple prosecutions over the past few years related to his social media activity and political statements. Several cases were filed against him after authorities said he published posts on the platform X (formerly Twitter) that insulted the Amir, criticized state institutions, and included statements about Saudi Arabia.

Some of the rulings were issued in absentia after Al-Khalidi left Kuwait in late 2023. Kuwaiti authorities later announced that he had been convicted in at least 11 different cases linked mainly to his online statements and activism.

In January 2025, Iraqi authorities detained him at Baghdad International Airport and handed him over to Kuwait, where he was taken into custody at the Al-Abdali border crossing in a move described by Kuwaiti officials as the result of security cooperation between the two countries.

Al-Khalidi has since faced a series of court proceedings, with Kuwaiti courts issuing several prison sentences related to insulting the Amir, spreading false news, and offending foreign states, including Saudi Arabia.