HRW warns Kuwait about using nationality law to target opponents

Human Rights Watch yesterday warned the Kuwaiti authorities from using the “cover of the nationality law to target their critics and deter dissent”.

In a statement, the New York-based organisation called on Kuwait to “immediately stop stripping nationals of their citizenship because they exercise free speech or other legitimate human rights, and reinstate the citizenship of people whose citizenship has been withdrawn on those grounds”.

“The authorities should also amend the law concerning revocation of citizenship to ensure that the grounds are narrowly defined, the decision to revoke will be proportionate, and that those affected have the right to an independent review,” the statement said.

In the past few months, Kuwait has stripped 33 nationals of their citizenships, of which three are thought to be for political reasons, HRW explained. The three individuals who were stripped of their nationalities are the owner of Al-Youm news channel, Ahmed Jaber Al-Shammari, the conservative Islamic preacher widely known for his conservative talk shows, Nabil Al-Awadhi, and Saad Al-Ajmi, the spokesperson for the leading opposition politician Musalam Al-Barak.

Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Kuwaiti authorities seem to think they can use the cover of the nationality law to target their critics and deter dissent.”

According to articles 11 and 13 of the Kuwaiti Law of Nationality, authorities are able to strip individuals and their families of their citizenships for many reasons including if it “involves the higher interests of the state or its foreign security,” or the authorities consider that the individual has “promoted principles that will undermine the social or economic system of the country”.

In response to these actions, Houry added: “Instead of targeting their critics in a back-door way, the Kuwaiti authorities should come clean and stop revoking their citizenships once and for all. While Kuwait continues to strip people of citizenship for no good reason, its reputation as a tolerant country will continue to nosedive.”

The statement also highlighted the importance of a report issued by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon which questions the validity and legality of any country stripping its citizens of their nationality. The report was released last December. It stated that it is sometimes permissible to strip an individual of their citizenship if it is found that “they have provided a foreign government or military with information or actions that could seriously harm the vital interests of the state”.

The report stressed that stripping a national of his citizenship for practicing their right to free speech is “a serious violation under international human rights law”.