RIYADH – Kuwait has protested at an “insult” by a Saudi official , statemedia reported, a rare rebuff to a close ally that reflects frustrationabout a Gulf Arab diplomatic crisis that Kuwait is struggling to mediate.
Deputy Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah said he had conveyed“regrets and admonishment” to the link>Saudilink>ambassador tolink>Kuwaitlink> overremarks directed at the minister of youth and sport, Khalid al-Rodhan, bythe head of link>Saudilink> Arabia’s sports committee, Turki Alal-Sheikh, who is also a link>Saudilink> royal court adviser.
“We assert our rejection and astonishment at this insult because of itsimpact on the warm and distinguished fraternal relations between the twosisterly countries,” official link> newsagency KUNA reported late on Wednesday, quoting Jarallah as tellingjournalists at an Indian embassy reception.
Jarallah spoke after Al al-Sheikh, in a message on his Twitter account,slammed Rodan following a visit he made to Qatar last week reportedly tothank Doha for its help in getting a FIFA ban on Kuwaiti soccer lifted.
“Rodan, simply is mercenaries in the shadow of positions… This mercenarywill not harm link>Saudilink> Arabia’s historic relations with itssister link>Kuwaitlink> , and he only represents himself in whathe said,” Al al-Sheikh said in his January 21 posting.
Kuwaiti and Qatari media had published a photo of Rodan standing next toQatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani holding a Kuwaiti soccer teamT-shirt.
The crisis, in which link>Saudilink> Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emiratesand Egypt have boycotted Qatar, arose in summer 2016 when the fourcountries cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Doha, accusing itof financing terrorism.
Riyadh also accuses Qatar of cosying up to the kingdom’s arch-rival Iran.Qatar rejects the charges and says it is being penalised for straying fromits neighbours’ backing for authoritarian rulers.
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah has sought to maintainneutrality while he has tried to arbitrate an end to the rift, which hasworsened to the point where both sides vilify each other regularly.
Kuwaiti courts, enforcing strict laws that prohibit citizens from insultingother countries or their leaders, have passed prison sentences on writersaccused of misusing social media.
Earlier this week, a link>Kuwaitlink> court sentenced a newspaper columnist toa second five-year prison term in absentia for insultinglink>Saudilink> Arabia.Abdullah Mohammed al-Saleh, who now lives in Britain, has said he had onlyexercised legitimate criticism of the kingdom.
Earlier this month, Kuwaiti media reported that writer Fouad al-Hashem wassentenced to seven years in jail for insulting Qatar.
In a separate ruling, a court sentenced an activist in absentia to 20 yearsin jail for insulting the emir, publishing false information and insultingthe judiciary, local media reported, in one of the heaviest prisonsentences of its kind.
The Arabic-language al-Qabas identified the man as Saqr al-Hashash and saidhe is facing several court cases. Under the constitution, the emir isdescribed as “immune and inviolable”.