S TAT E L E S S B Y D E C R E E
The GoK likewise revoked
citizenship of those where it
appears the government sought
to chill or otherwise restrict the
exercise of freedom of
expression. On 15 April 2025, a
report stated that the GoK
revoked the nationality of
Islamic commentator, Nabil AlAwadi, journalist Mubarak alOmair, and possibly former
national goalkeeper and Islamic
commentator, Ahmad AlTarabulsi. 83 On 19 October 2025,
the GoK stripped Islamic scholar
and commentator, Mohammed
al-Mail, of his citizenship. 84
Granted asylum in the UK in 2017
and repeatedly convicted in
absentia, Mohamedal-Mail
reportedly called it a “purely
political act”, adding that
"What is truly astonishing is that it took them this long to make their move, when I have been an
outspoken critic in exile for a decade." On 7 December 2025, the GoK stripped “prominent
Islamic author, speaker and businessman” Tareq (Tariq) al-Suwaidan of his citizenship. 85 This
instance appears to have been one of the most significant revocations by the GoK: Tareq
al-Suwaidan, the leader of the religiously-oriented political association, Muslim
Brotherhood in Kuwait, undertook post secondary training in the United States. He is the
chief operating officer and owner of a management training and consultancy firm, Gulf
Innovation Group; the former general manager of Al Resalah TV, a platform for Islamic
programming, from which he was reportedly dismissed in 2013 on account of links to the
Muslim Brotherhood. He is also an author of over 50 books, usually with Islamic themes.
On account of his “motivational and educational work”, advanced in part through
educational institutions, including in the Gulf region, he has reportedly become “a figure
of influence across media, education, and religious discourse”. 86
How do people find out that their citizenship has
been revoked?
Kuwaiti law requires that the names of those stripped of their citizenship be published in
the Official Gazette (see image). Yet awareness of this requirement is relatively poor. Even
if some Kuwaitis are aware of where the information is posted, it is done so in a paidsubscription based service.
The process of citizenship revocation is opaque: the decisions appear to be taken by the Supreme
Committee for the Investigation of Kuwaiti Nationality (the Supreme Committee). 87 However,
reports cite both revocation by decree - such as by the Ministry of the Interior, as well as decisions
taken by the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers.
35
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