human rights defender
Mohammed Al-Barghash
Actions and Campaigns
Mohammed Al-Barghash
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Organization affiliation
- National Bloc of Kuwaiti Bidun
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Economic, social and cultural rights
Current Status
In prison (pre-trial)
HRD's bio and work
Mohammed Al-Barghash belongs to the Bidun (stateless) community in Kuwait. He posts regularly about the plight of the Bidun on social media platforms, organizes online forums for discussion among Bidun and their supporters, and participates in peaceful demonstrations for Bidun rights. In May 2022, he founded the National Bloc of Kuwaiti Bidun, which he also heads, and which has organised a number of events to shed light on the chronic problems that the Bidun community suffers from and demand radical solutions to them.
Detained since
Jun 11, 2025
Charge(s)
- Spreading fake news
- Threatening national security
Sentence
On 31 January 2024, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling against Al-Barghash for a period of three years in prison with hard labour, after convicting him of the charges brought against him, namely, spreading fake news, harming the state’s reputation, and misusing a telephone device.
In February 2024, while he was in prison for a separate case, the Court of First Instance initially acquitted him of the charges against him. However, the Central Apparatus decided to appeal this ruling, seeking to undermine him due to his public criticism of their work, which only served to perpetuate discrimination and deprivation against stateless citizens and their families.
On 14 May 2025, the Court of Appeals acquitted Al-Barghash, upholding the initial verdict. The charges against him included allegedly spreading false news and insulting and slandering employees of the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, which had initially filed the complaint against him.
On 11 June 2025, he appeared before the Public Prosecution. He was charged with state security offences, and detained in the Central Prison pending the start of his trial.
On 28 July 2025, the Criminal Court in Kuwait sentenced him to three years in prison after convicting him of broadcasting false news on his X account about the Central Agency for Illegal Residents’ Affairs.
The verdict stated that he allegedly “transmitted news that undermined the prestige of the state, and went beyond that to publishing and inciting public opinion… so he was rightly convicted of these two charges against him.”
Latitude: 29.27891
Longitude: 47.85961
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Kuwait
Location of detention - Facility
Central Prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
After Al-Barghash surrendered himself, at dawn on 08 February 2024, eight members of the General Department of Criminal Investigation raided Al-Barghash’s house and investigated his wife, who holds Iraqi citizenship, in front of her three children. They then arrested her on the grounds that her residency in the country had expired, before releasing her later. Al-Barghash has been harassed by the Kuwaiti authorities for years because of his activism in defense of Bidun rights. He was one of the organizers of a Bidun protest on 26 August 2022 and was among a group of 21 men arrested and prosecuted in the aftermath for taking part in the peaceful demonstration. He was released on 15 September 2022 and sentenced to pay a 200-dinar fine (approximately $650 USD) and given a suspended one-year prison sentence.
Recent case update / evolution
On 25 October 2023, a criminal court acquitted Mohammad al-Barghash, and he was released after spending over seven weeks in detention. However, the prosecution appealed the decision, resulting in a three-year sentence against him issued in January 2024. On 12 December 2024, the Court of Cassation in Kuwait acquitted Al-Barghash of charges of spreading false news on social media about the authorities’ abuse of Bedoon citizens, and subsequently decided to overturn the three-year prison sentence against him, after he had been unjustly imprisoned for nearly a year.
On 14 May 2025, the Court of Appeals acquitted Al-Barghash, upholding the initial verdict. The charges against him included allegedly spreading false news and insulting and slandering employees of the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, which had initially filed the complaint against him.
On 11 June 2025, he appeared before the Public Prosecution. He was charged with state security offences, and detained in the Central Prison pending the start of his trial.
On 28 July 2025, the Criminal Court in Kuwait sentenced him to three years in prison after convicting him of broadcasting false news on his X account about the Central Agency for Illegal Residents’ Affairs.
Any other relevant documents
https://www.gc4hr.org/freedom-for-bedoon-community-rights-defender-mohammed-al-barghash/
https://www.gc4hr.org/courageous-bedoon-human-rights-defender-mohammed-al-barghash-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison/
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's Gender
- Man
- Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Economic, social and cultural rights
- Organization affiliation
- National Bloc of Kuwaiti Bidun
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Mohammed Al-Barghash belongs to the Bidun (stateless) community in Kuwait. He posts regularly about the plight of the Bidun on social media platforms, organizes online forums for discussion among Bidun and their supporters, and participates in peaceful demonstrations for Bidun rights. In May 2022, he founded the National Bloc of Kuwaiti Bidun, which he also heads, and which has organised a number of events to shed light on the chronic problems that the Bidun community suffers from and demand radical solutions to them.
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Kuwait
- Location of detention - Facility
- Central Prison
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 29.27891
Longitude: 47.85961
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Jun 11, 2025
- Current Status
- In prison (pre-trial)
- Charge(s)
- Spreading fake news
- Threatening national security
- Sentence
On 31 January 2024, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling against Al-Barghash for a period of three years in prison with hard labour, after convicting him of the charges brought against him, namely, spreading fake news, harming the state’s reputation, and misusing a telephone device.
In February 2024, while he was in prison for a separate case, the Court of First Instance initially acquitted him of the charges against him. However, the Central Apparatus decided to appeal this ruling, seeking to undermine him due to his public criticism of their work, which only served to perpetuate discrimination and deprivation against stateless citizens and their families.
On 14 May 2025, the Court of Appeals acquitted Al-Barghash, upholding the initial verdict. The charges against him included allegedly spreading false news and insulting and slandering employees of the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, which had initially filed the complaint against him.
On 11 June 2025, he appeared before the Public Prosecution. He was charged with state security offences, and detained in the Central Prison pending the start of his trial.
On 28 July 2025, the Criminal Court in Kuwait sentenced him to three years in prison after convicting him of broadcasting false news on his X account about the Central Agency for Illegal Residents’ Affairs.
The verdict stated that he allegedly “transmitted news that undermined the prestige of the state, and went beyond that to publishing and inciting public opinion… so he was rightly convicted of these two charges against him.”
- Recent case update / evolution
On 25 October 2023, a criminal court acquitted Mohammad al-Barghash, and he was released after spending over seven weeks in detention. However, the prosecution appealed the decision, resulting in a three-year sentence against him issued in January 2024. On 12 December 2024, the Court of Cassation in Kuwait acquitted Al-Barghash of charges of spreading false news on social media about the authorities’ abuse of Bedoon citizens, and subsequently decided to overturn the three-year prison sentence against him, after he had been unjustly imprisoned for nearly a year.
On 14 May 2025, the Court of Appeals acquitted Al-Barghash, upholding the initial verdict. The charges against him included allegedly spreading false news and insulting and slandering employees of the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, which had initially filed the complaint against him.
On 11 June 2025, he appeared before the Public Prosecution. He was charged with state security offences, and detained in the Central Prison pending the start of his trial.
On 28 July 2025, the Criminal Court in Kuwait sentenced him to three years in prison after convicting him of broadcasting false news on his X account about the Central Agency for Illegal Residents’ Affairs.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
After Al-Barghash surrendered himself, at dawn on 08 February 2024, eight members of the General Department of Criminal Investigation raided Al-Barghash’s house and investigated his wife, who holds Iraqi citizenship, in front of her three children. They then arrested her on the grounds that her residency in the country had expired, before releasing her later. Al-Barghash has been harassed by the Kuwaiti authorities for years because of his activism in defense of Bidun rights. He was one of the organizers of a Bidun protest on 26 August 2022 and was among a group of 21 men arrested and prosecuted in the aftermath for taking part in the peaceful demonstration. He was released on 15 September 2022 and sentenced to pay a 200-dinar fine (approximately $650 USD) and given a suspended one-year prison sentence.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Any other relevant documents
https://www.gc4hr.org/freedom-for-bedoon-community-rights-defender-mohammed-al-barghash/
https://www.gc4hr.org/courageous-bedoon-human-rights-defender-mohammed-al-barghash-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison/
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
sorted by
Date added
4 relationships, 3 entities