UAE expels Kuwaiti students for forming a union

The ministry of higher education in the UAE has announced that it had expelled eight Kuwaiti students from Al-Sharja University and Ajman University, accusing them of “violating the laws and internal regulations of the two universities, collecting donations and holding illegal gatherings in university dormitories.”

The state’s official news agency reported that the decision came as a result of the students’ violation of the bylaws at the two universities, including forming a student union without prior permit from the university administration.

However, Kuwait’s Alrai newspaper noted that the UAE also accused the students of being affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned group in the UAE. According to the newspaper, the students were told that they are “no longer welcome” in the UAE “on the assumption that they belong to the Muslim Brotherhood or similar organisations.”

The eight students, four of them enrolled at Sharja and four at Ajman, are now threatened with deportation from the UAE. The students were reportedly surprised to learn that they are “no longer welcome” in the UAE and that they have to leave.

Last month, the UAE sentenced a group of 30 Emiratis and Egyptians to prison terms ranging from three months to five years for suspected links with the Muslim Brotherhood.