Kuwait reinstates revoked citizenships
Move set to ease tension between government, lawmakers
Manama: Kuwait has reinstated the Kuwaiti citizenship of ten people after it was revoked in 2014.
The decision, announced by the Cabinet following its weekly session on Monday, seemed as a part of a move to defuse the growing tension between the government and the parliament amid threats by some lawmakers to grill the prime minister.
The 10 people who benefited from the decision were Mohammad Al Mutair, Abdullah Al Mutairi, Farhan Al Enezi, Mohammad Qambar Jaafar, Nabeel Al Awadhi, Missad Al Khithya, Saad Al Khithya, Dhidan Al Khithya, and the two sons of Mohammad Qambar Jaafar.
In 2014, Kuwait revoked several Kuwait revoked the citizenship of several people, citing naturalisation irregularities that included false declarations and illegal double nationalities, as well as security concerns.
Article 11 of the Kuwaiti Citizenship law stipulates that a Kuwaiti national loses his citizenship if he holds the nationality of another state while Article 21 states the Kuwaiti nationality may be revoked if it was obtained by fraud or on the basis of a false declaration or false evidence submitted by a witness.
Lawmakers have been pressing for reinstating the revoked citizenships and for declaring a general amnesty that would end the jail sentences of several people, including MPs, who were found guilty of using violence against security men in November 2011 and storming the parliament to demand the resignation of the then prime minister Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad.
The storming, unprecedented in Kuwait’s history, had caused serious consternation in the country and was labelled “Black Wednesday”.