Kuwait revokes citizenship of 38 terror convicts

Cairo: Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of 38 individuals convicted in several terrorism cases following final court rulings, as the country continues its scrutiny of suspected holders of Kuwaiti nationality.

The latest revocations include five convicts in the so-called “Peninsula Lions” case, for which final rulings were issued in June 2007. The case dates back to 2005, when unrest erupted in the Hawalli Square area and spread to other locations, resulting in the deaths of extremists, security personnel, and civilians.

A supreme state committee responsible for reviewing citizenship files also withdrew Kuwaiti nationality from 11 individuals convicted of funding the Iran-allied Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Earlier this month, Kuwait's top appeals court convicted 13 defendants, including 11 Kuwaitis, of belonging to a banned group and financing it in violation of the law. The Court of Cassation sentenced them to three years of imprisonment with hard labor, fined them a total of KD27 million ($87.6 million), and ordered the deportation of two Iranian defendants after they serve their terms.

The revocation list also includes 22 individuals convicted in a terror case referred to in the media as the “Abdali Cell” case. In June 2016, the Court of Cassation issued final rulings in this case, convicting 23 citizens—one of whom had already been stripped of Kuwaiti citizenship.

The charges against them included collaborating with Iran, joining an organization with the purpose of spreading principles aimed at undermining Kuwait’s basic systems, attacking the country’s social and economic structure, and bringing in, storing, and possessing large quantities of weapons and explosives that endangered national security.