Kuwait

Kuwait

The authorities detained and prosecuted government critics under legal provisions criminalizing speech deemed offensive to the head of state. Members of the stateless Bidun minority continued to face discrimination. Courts continued to hand down death sentences; no executions were reported.

Background

In February 2021, the Emir suspended parliament for a month, stating it was in a bid to defuse tensions between the government and parliament. Reasons for the tensions included a proposed general amnesty bill to pardon a group of former opposition members of parliament (MPs) convicted in relation to their participation in a 2011 protest, as well as the sentencing of a group of men following an unfair trial on charges that included “spying for Iran and Hizbullah”. On 8 November, the Emir granted pardons and reduced the sentences of 35 men, including 11 former MPs.

Overturning law that criminalized ‘imitation of the opposite sex’ a breakthrough for transgender rights

Responding to the Kuwaiti Constitutional Court’s decision today to overturn Article 198 of the Penal Code, which criminalized “imitation of the opposite sex”, because it violates Article 30 of the constitution that guarantees personal freedom, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, said:

“The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn Article 198 of the Penal Code is a welcome development and a major breakthrough for transgender rights in the region. Article 198 was deeply discriminatory, overly vague and never should have been accepted into law in the first place.

“The Kuwaiti authorities must now ensure that Article 198 is repealed in its entirety. They must also immediately halt arbitrary arrests of transgender people and drop all charges and convictions brought against them under this transphobic law.

“All those unjustly imprisoned under Article 198 must now be released. The authorities must also investigate all allegations of torture by security forces and install an independent mechanism for monitoring police behaviour.”

Authorities must stop targeting pro-Bidun protesters as elections loom

Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 18 people in Kuwait, including three candidates for upcoming parliamentary elections, for taking part in a peaceful demonstration the previous week in support of Kuwait’s stateless Bidun community, Amnesty International said today.

On 31 August 2022, the Office of Public Prosecution summoned them for investigation on charges that could lead to up to nine months imprisonment and ordered their pre-trial detention pending further investigation.

“This is a blatant attempt by the Kuwaiti authorities to intimidate people who are exercising their rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly. Instead of listening to the demonstrators’ calls for the rights of stateless Bidun people to nationality, education and healthcare, the authorities are seeking to silence and punish them,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The authorities must drop any and all legal action against these peaceful protesters. Ahead of parliamentary elections in September, the Kuwaiti authorities must respect the rights of everyone in Kuwait to participate freely and peacefully in public affairs, which includes the right to join peaceful demonstrations and to freely express their demand for basic rights.”

Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 91st Session, 29 August – 23 September 2022