Qatari poet released from prison after royal pardon

The Qatari poet Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami, who was given a 15-year prison sentence in 2011 for reciting a poem in support of the Arab Spring uprisings on YouTube, was given a royals pardon and freed on Tuesday, 15 March. The surprise reversal comes after a storm of criticism from human rights groups and the UN about limits to free speech in the country, which has touted itself as a supporter of the arts. The poet’s release also comes at the end of a conference organised by the New Yo