Cairo: A Kuwaiti state committee, responsible for verifying eligibility to hold the country’s citizenship, has decided to withdraw Kuwaiti nationality of a record 930 people in a single day.
The Higher Committee for Verification of Kuwaiti Nationality has made the decision and will now refer it to the Council of Ministers for approval.
The latest batch raises to 1,617 the total number of the people against whom decisions were made to strip them of Kuwaiti citizenship in just 20 days.
Fahd Al Yousef, Kuwait’s acting prime minister and minister of defence and interior who heads the panel, termed the latest group a truly large number.
“They were all worthy and glaring cases. We aren’t unfair to anyone, but we lift injustice against Kuwait and the people of Kuwait,” he told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.
“What happened in the citizenship file is one of the biggest crimes against Kuwait, and this crime cannot be allowed to continue,” he added.
“Can you believe that among the 930 cases in which the withdrawal and loss decision was issued, there are two Syrians who are brothers in Kuwait, but are cousins in Syria. They hold Kuwaiti citizenship by fraud, and behind them are about 132 other names who unlawfully obtained citizenship by extension.”
Al Yousef said a committee will be formed at Kuwait’s General Directorate of Nationality to receive grievances against decisions related to citizenship revocation.
Kuwait, a country of around 4.9 million people mostly expatriates, has recently launched a clampdown on citizenship fraud and duality to protect national identity.
Authorities have withdrawn citizenship from hundreds of people since early March due to fraud or holding another nationality that is banned under Kuwaiti law.
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has set up a hotline to receive reports about holders of dual citizenship or those who obtained it through forgery. The ministry has urged members of the public with related information to report it via the hotline for investigations, promising the whistleblowers full secrecy.
