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A Kuwaiti court on Monday sentenced three members of the Al-Sabah ruling family and four others to jail terms for insulting the country's ruler and the judiciary on internet messaging sites.

The court sentenced the three royals and two others to five years each. A sixth man was sentenced for a year, while a seventh received a 10-year term in absentia.

The royals include Sheikh Athbi al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a nephew of the Gulf state's emir and the former head of the secret service police.

He is also the younger brother of international sports figure Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

The defendants remain free on bail.

They were among 13 people charged with using WhatsApp and Twitter to insult the emir and publish false news accusing judges of accepting bribes, the court ruled.

Also convicted was Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al-Sabah, the editor of al-Watan newspaper and television which were closed by the government for violating corporate finance rules in a decision ratified by the courts.

Another six men were acquitted.

The rulings are not final as they can still be challenged in the appeals and supreme courts.

Members of the ruling family have been previously prosecuted for sensitive remarks. Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad was given a suspended prison sentence and a fine in December 2015 for quoting remarks by the emir without permission.

In 2012 another member of the ruling family was held by police for several days over remarks on Twitter in which he accused the authorities of corruption and called for political reforms.