KUWAIT CITY: The Kuwaiti government said it revoked the citizenship of 18 people yesterday, including a prominent opposition figure, citing irregularities in granting them their nationality.
According to a statement, some of those who lost their citizenship had been naturalised on the basis of fake documents, others had dual citizenship, which is outlawed, and others had the status revoked for security reasons.
Among them was Saad Al Ajmi, spokesman of the Popular Action Movement, a nationalist opposition group headed by former veteran MPs Ahmad Al Saadun and Mussallam Al Barrak. Before joining the group, Ajmi served for several years as the Kuwaiti correspondent of Al Arabiya satellite television.
In comments on Twitter, activists blasted the decision as a means of silencing the opposition which last week described similar government action as totally illegal. Since July, the Gulf state has revoked the citizenship of 30 people and their family members, including the owner of a pro-opposition television station and a newspaper, a former Islamist opposition MP and a senior Islamist cleric.
A court on Thursday declined to rule in the case of the citizenship of the owner of Al Youm television Ahmad Jabr Al Shemmari, saying the issue was outside its jurisdiction. Shemmari’s lawyer challenged the citizenship withdrawal at the administrative court, saying it violated the constitution because Shemmari was a Kuwaiti by birth. The decision is not final as it can still be challenged before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Human Rights Watch at the time denounced the action as a “crackdown on people seeking reform” in Kuwait.afp
Collision delays Suez Canal traffic
CAIRO: Two container ships collided at the northern end of Egypt’s Suez Canal, delaying traffic through a vital global trade route, shipping sources said yesterday. The German-flagged MV Colombo Express and the Singaporean-flagged MV Maersk Tanjong collided at the mouth of the canal, knocking three containers from the Colombo Express into the sea, the sources said.
The collision is expected to delay Suez traffic in both directions. “The incident has severely interrupted the second southbound convoy and the northbound convoy is therefore expected to be delayed,” Agents Inchape Shipping Services said. The Suez Canal is one of the world’s most strategic waterways, facilitating much of the maritime trade between Europe and Asia, providing about $5bn in annual revenue for Egypt. Both ships remain parked in the canal lakes as Suez authorities fish the containers out of the water and complete an investigation.
Reuters
