New list of 8 sent to Cabinet for revocation of citizenship
KUWAIT CITY, July 23: Ministry of Interior has referred a new list of eight Kuwaiti citizens to the Cabinet for revocation of their citizenship, reports AlQabas daily quoting a reliable governmental source.
He said the individuals whose Kuwaiti citizenship has been withdrawn will consequently be deprived of all privileges provided by the country which includes governmental house, job, commercial licenses, etc.
He explained that those individuals will be granted a grace period to evacuate the governmental houses affiliated to the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW), adding that their names will be ‘blocked’ at the border points to ensure they do not leave the country using Kuwaiti passports.
The source also explained that these individuals will be granted a grace period to submit all papers and documents related to the country, indicating that the concerned authorities will visit the accommodations of those who fail to handover these documents.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional expert Dr Mohammad Al-Feli affirmed that appealing the decree of citizenship is not allowed because the citizenship issue is among those issues that are not in the hands of the judiciary.
Revocation
He explained that the decision to withdraw citizenship applies to those who were naturalized while the decision to cancel citizenship is for cases of forgery through submission of fake documents. He stressed that law allows revocation of citizenship for security reasons.
In addition, former MP and Professor of Law at Kuwait University Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi said the government’s decision to withdraw citizenships is political and not legal, as it is intended to take revenge on its opponents.
He said the decision violates the international treaties that Kuwait has signed which necessitates upholding of political, civil and human rights.
In the same context, Al-Ajman Tribe held a meeting on Monday evening in the presence of the tribe prince Sheikh Sultan Salman bin Hathleen, Dr Mohammad Al-Huwaila, former MPs Abdullah Al-Barghash, AlSaifi Mubarak Al-Saifi and other dignitaries from the tribe. During the meeting, they discussed about the withdrawal of citizenships of former MP Abdullah AlBarghash and his brothers.
Sheikh bin Hathleen said, “We are optimistic about the fatherly spirit of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad over the sons of this nation and we trust he will look into this case like a father handles the issues of his sons”.
Furthermore, a number of former lawmakers belonging to the so-called ‘Opposition Alliance’ criticized the decision to withdraw citizenship of some individuals. They said such a decision is aimed to send a message to the opposition for making them feel terrified and for raising doubts about their loyalty to the country because of disagreements over some viewpoints.
They accused the government of practicing political blackmail against those included in the decision, indicating that such practices expose the inability of the authority to achieve the desired political reform and cause it to lose its popularity.