Kuwait to stop cancelling the citizenship of opposition members

The Ministerial Council in Kuwait has formed a committee to look into the issue of prominent opposition members whose citizenship has been cancelled and who have been expelled from the country, Quds Press has reported. Those affected by this include journalist Saad Al-Ajami and well-known Shaikh Nabil Al-Ewadi.

Al-Ajami returned to the country from exile in Saudi Arabia last week at the request of the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. “I was honoured today as I shook hands with Emir Sabah and I thanked him for his touching human initiative towards me,” he wrote on twitter. According to Quds Press, the formal reception by the emir is part of Kuwait’s plan to end the issue of opposition members whose citizenship has been cancelled.

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The committee commissioned to look into this issue includes Ali Al-Rashid, an advisor to the emir, former Awqaf Minister Nayef Al-Ajami, the head of the Fatwa and Legislation Department Salah Al-Masaad and a former MP.

The Kuwaiti Constitution entitles the government to revoke citizenship if it was obtained illegally or if the person involved poses a threat to the security of the country. The move can only be made by order from the emir.