Kuwait strips six of citizenship in latest revocations to 'terrorise society'

Kuwait has stripped six more people of their citizenship, including the prominent Shia cleric Hussein al-Maatouq, widening a campaign that has revoked the nationality of tens of thousands of people over the past two years under the government's enforcement of citizenship laws.

In a decree published on Tuesday in the official gazette Kuwait Al-Yawm, Emir Mishal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah revoked the citizenships of al-Maatouq, activists Abdulaziz Khaled Al-Foudari, Lulwa Al-Hussainan, Mohammed Al-Matar, Abdullah Al-Saleh and Mansour Al-Hamoud.

The latest revocations come as Kuwait continues one of the Gulf's most sweeping nationality reviews, a campaign that authorities say targets fraudulent citizenships and violations of nationality law but which rights groups argue has increasingly been used against political critics and public figures.

Al-Maatouq, one of Kuwait's most prominent Shia clerics, previously served as secretary-general of the National Islamic Alliance, a political group representing much of the country's Shia community. He has lived outside Kuwait for several years and was sentenced in absentia earlier this year to five years' imprisonment with hard labour in a state security case related to alleged sectarian incitement.

The cleric rejected the charges at the time, accusing Kuwait's State Security agencies and Interior Ministry of continuing to level "baseless accusations" and spreading "lies and fabrications" against citizens known for their patriotic positions. He said the case reflected "a recurring pattern of targeting new groups and levelling accusations unsupported by genuine evidence".

Among those stripped of citizenship was Lulwa Al-Hussainan, an activist who became one of the most outspoken critics of Kuwait's citizenship revocation campaign after arguing that thousands of people had been arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, disproportionately affecting women and families.

Al-Hussainan left Kuwait in 2024 after saying she had been deliberately targeted because of her activism. She has denied charges brought against her, including insulting the Emir, while several members of her family, including her brother Abdullah Nasser Al-Hussainan, have also faced arrest in connection with her political activities.

The decree also included Abdullah Al-Saleh, a political activist who has lived in Britain for several years after receiving refugee status. Al-Saleh regularly publishes material critical of the Kuwaiti government and has been convicted in absentia on charges including insulting foreign leaders and spreading false news. Amnesty International has previously called for those convictions to be overturned.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights condemned the latest revocations, calling on Kuwait to reverse the decisions and warning that stripping citizens of their nationality carries profound consequences for both individuals and society.

"These are people who have given everything they own to the land they call home, and GCHR expresses its full solidarity with them against this targeting by the Kuwaiti government," the organisation said in a statement shared with The New Arab.

Khalid Ibrahim, the group's executive director, said the revocations formed part of a broader rollback of civil liberties.

"Repression in all its forms is currently prevalent in Kuwait. Citizenship revocation serves as a tool to intimidate and terrorise society," he told The New Arab.

"All of this reinforces a precedent well known in our region: a repressive government, an oppressed nation, stripped of its public freedoms."

Kuwait began its nationality review campaign in 2024, saying it aimed to tackle fraudulent citizenship claims, including cases involving dual nationality or citizenship acquired through marriage. Kuwaiti law also allows nationality to be revoked on grounds of national interest and state security, provisions that rights organisations say have been applied broadly and with little public explanation.

The campaign has expanded significantly this year, with citizenship revoked from politicians, footballers, musicians and other public figures, including 1982 World Cup goalkeeper Ahmed al-Tarabulsi, singer Abdulmohsen Al Muhanna and composer Yousef Al Muhanna.

Rights groups estimate that around 50,000 people have lost their Kuwaiti citizenship since 2024, warning that the campaign has raised growing concerns about due process, transparency and the risk of statelessness.