Five on trial for breach of electoral regulations

Five people were detained and charged yesterday for “obstructing the electoral process”, the public prosecution said, ahead of parliamentary polls set for November 24. Public Prosecution Chief and Head of the Electoral Crimes Investigation Committee Mehanna Al Shaiji said the Public Prosecution had referred five detained suspects to the Lower Criminal Court after being accused of undermining the election freedom, influencing the electoral process and disrupting it, tearing licensed electoral ads and explicitly insulting a candidate.

The suspect in the first case posted tweets in his social media account, on Twitter, inciting not to participate in the upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections, which is considered as an encroachment on freedom of the elections. Meanwhile, the second suspect, in the second case, posted a vocal message on the social media websites giving false information on the behaviour of one of the candidates so as to influence the electoral process and its results.

Moreover, the suspect, in another case, insulted explicitly one of the candidates in front of his electoral premises. The three suspects, in the fourth case, destroyed electoral ads of one of the candidates in the Capital Governorate.