Kuwait City: Kuwait authorities arrested a former liberal Cabinet minister as he attempted to leave the country Saturday, after being sentenced to a week in jail over an article criticizing the government, his lawyer said.

Saad Al-Ajmi, information minister between 1999-2000, was detained at the airport as he, his wife and daughter were trying to leave for a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie said on Twitter.

He said Ajmi, a professor at Kuwait University and contributor to several Gulf newspapers, was sentenced Thursday for an article published by the pro-opposition Al-Aan electronic newsletter about two years ago about alleged government corruption.