Saudi Arabia sues Kuwaiti MP over Yemen criticism

Saudi Arabia sues Kuwaiti MP over Yemen criticism By Courtney Trenwith Monday, 27 April 2015 10:08 AM Kuwaiti Shiite Muslim MP Abdulhameed Dashti (C). (Getty Images) The Saudi embassy in Kuwait is suing a Kuwaiti MP who criticised military action against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Kuwait Times reported. Shia MP Abdulhameed Dashti made the offending comment during an interview on a television station owned by Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia has led airstrikes against the Shia Houthis. Its lawsuit claims Dashti’s criticism of the strikes insulted the kingdom, the embassy claims. It is the second case the kingdom has filed against Dashti. In the first, he was accused of insulting both the kingdom and the Saudi monarchy. Meanwhile, a court has upheld the acquittal of Sunni Islamist activist Abdullah Al Nafisi who was prosecuted for insulting Shias, Kuwait Times said. The case against outspoken former MP Saleh Al Mulla, who is accused of insulting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi during his visit to Kuwait is due to be heard on October 4. Al Mulla wrote on several Twitter comments that he objected to Kuwait giving more funds to Egypt. He was detained for five days before being released on bail. ================== Kuwait deports opposition leader to Saudi Arabia By Staff Writer Thursday, 23 April 2015 12:00 PM Kuwait has deported a prominent opposition figure to Saudi Arabia after stripping him of his citizenship, his political party has said, according to AFP. The former spokesman of the Popular Action Movement (PAM), Saad Al Ajmi, was arrested by secret police on Tuesday and escorted to the Saudi city of Khafji by road at night, PAM said in a statement. Al Ajmi was among several political opponents whose citizenships have been revoked in recent months as part of a crackdown. Authorities argued Al Ajmi had dual citizenship with Saudi Arabia, which is illegal. He has denied the allegation and filed a lawsuit to challenge the government’s action, according to local media. Human Rights Watch has called on Kuwait to stop targeting opponents by revoking their citizenships, and to reinstate their nationalities. There has been no official comment on Al Ajmi’s deportation so far. ========================== Kuwait sets up 700 police check points in security crackdown By Courtney Trenwith Sunday, 19 April 2015 12:47 PM Kuwait has set-up 700 police check points across the country in a bid to increase security, Kuwait Times reported. The check points were particularly along the border and in highly populated areas and police were monitoring potential criminal and terrorist activity, Interior Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for General Security Major General Abdelfattah Al Ali was quoted as saying. The number of thefts, fights, unruliness and shootings already had declined due to the check points, he said. Kuwait borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where conflict has increase in the past year as ISIL attempts to control more territory in the region. ===================== Kuwait sets up 700 police check points in security crackdown By Courtney Trenwith Sunday, 19 April 2015 12:47 PM Kuwait has set-up 700 police check points across the country in a bid to increase security, Kuwait Times reported. The check points were particularly along the border and in highly populated areas and police were monitoring potential criminal and terrorist activity, Interior Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for General Security Major General Abdelfattah Al Ali was quoted as saying. The number of thefts, fights, unruliness and shootings already had declined due to the check points, he said. Kuwait borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where conflict has increase in the past year as ISIL attempts to control more territory in the region. ==================== Kuwait puts freeze on expat population By Courtney Trenwith Monday, 27 April 2015 1:45 PM Share via facebook Tweet this Bookmark and Share . Kuwait has frozen the number of expatriates in the country, according to Kuwait Times. New foreign workers will only be granted visas to replace exiting expats. Kuwaiti authorities have struggled to deal with contention among citizens over the imbalance between locals and foreigners in the country, particularly as infrastructure has failed to keep up with the expanding population. Expats make up about two-thirds of the total population of about 3.3m. Various schemes to reduce expat numbers have been previously announced, including in 2013 when the then-social minister said the number of expats would be cut by 100,000 each year until 2023, effectively halving the total. The new government has not followed through with that policy. More than 90 percent of Kuwaitis who work are employed by the public sector, while there are more than 2m expats in the private sector, according to Arabian Business sources.