Kuwait’s government has revoked the citizenship of two opposition figures and some family members and shut two media outlets, the state news agency KUNA reported, in moves that could deepen a political crisis in the Persian Gulf state.
The move comes after the Cabinet adopted what it called an “iron fist policy” last week following protests over the arrest of a prominent opposition politician, in which the Cabinet threatened to remove the citizenship of people suspected of trying to “undermine the stability” of the state.
KUNA said the Cabinet agreed at a meeting late on Monday to impose the measures on Ahmed al-Jabr as well as on Abdullah Barghash, his two brothers and his sister, on the recommendations of the interior minister.
The decision will make them lose some of the state benefits that citizens enjoy, including public healthcare, education and housing, but they do not face imminent expulsion.
Al-Jabr, chairman of the al-Youm, an opposition TV channel, and Barghash, a former parliament member, could not immediately be reached for a comment.
However, pro-democracy activist Nasser al-Abdaly said the government was relying on rarely used laws to target “some of those who oppose the policies of the government.”
He said Barghash’s citizenship was revoked under a law that forbids Kuwaitis from dual citizenship, while al-Jabr was targeted under a law that requires naturalized Kuwaitis to avoid committing any crime for 20 years.
He said authorities had accused al-Jabr of working against Kuwait’s security and stability.
Kuwait’s Information Ministry, in a subsequent move on Tuesday night, canceled the licenses of a local newspaper and a television channel “because they did not fully honor one of the conditions in the licenses,” Muneera al-Huwaidi, assistant undersecretary for Press and Publications, told KUNA on Tuesday, giving no further details.
KUNA did not identify the newspaper or the TV channel, but Abdelhamid al-Da’as, the editor-in-chief of Alam al-Youm newspaper and a member of the board of al-Youm TV channel, said the decision was related to the two media outlets.
“A letter arrived from the Ministry of Information revoking the license of the newspaper and the channel,” al-Da’as said, adding that they have complied with the decision.
The Cabinet also ordered the closure of branches of local non-governmental public welfare associations for “violating the rules set out by law for the activities of public welfare for which they were licensed.”
It did not name them, but local activists said the main target was an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
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