Kuwait reinstates opposition’s citizenship

KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait will restore the citizenship of opposition figures and dozens of their relatives about three years after revoking it, members of parliament said yesterday.

“Our thanks to the emir for his generous gesture of restoring the revoked citizenships,” opposition politician Mohammad Al Dallal said after his meeting with the emir, Sheikh Sabah.

Several of the 14 parliamentarians who attended the meeting confirmed that Sheikh Sabah had ordered the citizenships to be restored.

In mid-2014, the Kuwaiti government stripped at least four opposition figures and dozens of their family members of their nationality.

The decision came after large street protests demanded political reforms.

Those affected included former opposition MP Abdullah Al Barghash and more than 50 members of his extended fam- ily. They also included Saad Al Ajmi, former spokesman of the opposition Popular Action Movement, who was later deported to Saudi Arabia. Ahmad Al Shemmari, the owner of the opposition-linked Alam Al Youm newspaper, and Muslim preacher Nabil Al Awadhi also lost their nationality.

Several of those affected sued the government.

The move to restore their citizenship came after a snap election last November in which op- position groups participated after a four-year boycott, winning about half of the 50 seats.

Opposition groups and candidates made restoring citizenship rights a key election pledge.

Kuwait has a native population of 1.35 million, many of whom became citizens through naturalisation.

The emirate also has 3.1 million foreign residents.