Kuwait's court of appeals on Monday reduced a two-year jail term handed to an opposition tweeter for insulting the emir to one year, the director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights said. "The court reduced the sentence on Sager al-Hashash to one year in jail with immediate effect," Mohammad al-Humaidi said on his Twitter account. The lower court sentenced Hashash to two years in prison on March 7 for insulting the oil-rich Gulf state ruler through remarks on Twitter. He has been in jail since then and will remain there until the supreme court reviews his case.

Kuwait's appeals court on Monday granted opposition leader Musallem al-Barrak bail as it began examining his five-year jail term for insulting the emir, a lawyer said. Former MP Barrak appeared in court, although he had refused to turn himself in to police over the past week during which he insisted on seeing the original arrest warrant. "Judge Anwar al-Anzi has decided to freeze the application of the five-year jail term, and released him with a bail of 5,000 dinars ($17,532)," Dokhi al-Hasban told AFP. The judge adjourned the hearing to May 13.

By Patrick Johnston (Reuters) - Controversial Bahraini Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa looks to have moved ahead in the AFC presidential race after a pivotal week saw the head of the powerful Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) give him public backing. His closest rival, UAE football head Yousuf Al Serkal, is crying foul at what he perceives as OCA support ahead of the May 2 vote and believes the council is interfering in an election that has opened schisms within west Asian football.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday urged Kuwait to drop charges against people accused of offending the emir, a day after a former MP was handed a jail term for insulting the Gulf state's ruler. "The Kuwaiti authorities should drop criminal charges against dozens of online activists, journalists, and politicians for legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of expression," HRW said in a statement.