Kuwait supreme court upholds 2-year prison sentence against opposition leader on insult charge

FILE - In this Monday, April 20, 2015 file photo, supporters gather around opposition leader Musallam al-Barrack, center, after his release on bail ahead of a final decision on charges he insulted the country's ruler, in Kuwait City. On Monday, May, 18, 2015, Thamer al-Jedaei, told The Associate Pressa that the country's supreme court has upheld a verdict and the two-year prison sentence against the former lawmaker on charges he insulted the country's ruler. (AP Photo, File) (The Associated Press)

Former Kuwaiti lawmaker Musallam al-Barrack, left, speaks at his residence after Kuwait's supreme court upheld a verdict on charges he insulted the country's ruler, in Kuwait city, Kuwait, Monday, May 18, 2015. Al-Barrack's attorney Thamer al-Jedaei told The Associated Press that his client will surrender to authorities once court paperwork is complete. Al-Barrack was originally sentenced to five years in prison by a lower court, but that sentence was shortened on appeal to two years behind bars in February. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

KUWAIT CITY – A lawyer for a Kuwaiti opposition leader says the country's supreme court has upheld a verdict and the two-year prison sentence against the former lawmaker on charges he insulted the country's ruler.

Attorney Thamer al-Jedaei told The Associated Press on Monday that his client, Musallam al-Barrack, will turn himself in once he receives formal paperwork from the court.

Al-Barrack was originally sentenced to five years in prison by a lower court, but the appeals court overturned that verdict and issued a shorter two-year sentence in February.

The case stems from a speech al-Barrack gave in October 2012 urging Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah not to "drag the country into a dark abyss" while charging that Kuwait risked becoming an autocratic state under new electoral laws.