Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Africa North

HRW Says over 12,300 Sinai Buildings Razed by Egypt Army Since 2013

2021-03-18

The jihadis were deeply embedded among the locals.

[AnNahar] Egyptian troops have demolished more than 12,300 buildings in the Sinai Peninsula since 2013 in a campaign of forced evictions that likely amount to "war crimes", Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

A decade-old jihadist insurgency in North Sinai province escalated in 2013 when the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

"Between late 2013 and July 2020, the army destroyed at least 12,350 buildings, mostly homes, most recently in the El Arish area," HRW said.

"The army has also razed, ruined and closed off approximately 6,000 hectares (nearly 15,000 acres) of farmland, mostly since mid-2016," it added.

HRW said the demolitions and forced evictions "are violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and likely amount to war crimes".

Yeah, yeah. So’s terrorism.

The Lions of Islam profess loyalty to the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group, the jihadist organization which proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq in 2014 before succumbing to multiple offensives.

That’ll be Ansar Bayt al Maqdis/ISIS in the Sinai Province.

Most of their attacks have been in the Sinai Peninsula but they have also used the territory as a launchpad for attacks elsewhere in Egypt.

In February 2018, the government launched a nationwide operation against bully boys, focused on North Sinai.

"The demolitions and evictions reflect an abusive official mentality that dismisses the well-being of Sinai residents, which is key to the region's security and stability," HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director Joe Stork said.

HRW said analysis of satellite imagery collected between December 2017 and July 2020 showed the army had been clearing a buffer zone around the airport in the North Sinai quiet provincial capital El Arish.

In addition to the 2 kilometer wide strip from the Gaza border where they’ve been digging up Hamas tunnels that ended in local houses, businesses, and warehouses? Okay, then.

It said compensation payments for evicted residents had been slow and opaque with "thousands never listed".

There was no immediate response to the allegations from the Egyptian authorities.

A previous report published by HRW in 2019 detailing "serious abuses" by the army against civilians in North Sinai drew angry denials from Cairo.

Dozens of security personnel have been killed in North Sinai since February 2018, according to official figures.

The army says some 970 suspected Lions of Islam have also been killed.

But the province has remained largely closed to journalists, making the compilation of independent casualty figures almost impossible.

Link

Iraq

HRW: ISIS killed 300 ex-policemen south of Mosul

2016-11-18

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS gunnies probably killed more than 300 Iraqi former police three weeks ago and buried them in a mass grave near the town of Hammam al-Alil south of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. A Rooters news hound visited the site of the mass grave, where residents said the gunnies buried victims who had been shot or beheaded. The residents said they believed up to 200 people were killed in the weeks before ISIS withdrew from the town.

Human Rights Watch said some of the former coppers were separated from a group of about 2,000 people from nearby villages and towns who were forced to march alongside the gunnies last month as they retreated north to Mosul and the town of Tal Afar.

It quoted a laborer who said he saw ISIS fighters drive four large trucks carrying 100 to 125 men, some of whom he recognized as former coppers, past an agricultural college close to the site which was to become the mass grave. Minutes later, he heard automatic gunfire and cries of distress, he said. The next night, on Oct. 29, a similar scene was repeated, with between 130 to 145 men, he told HRW.

Another witness, a resident of Hammam al-Alil, said he heard automatic gunfire in the area for approximately seven minutes, three nights in a row. "This is another piece of evidence of the horrific mass murder by ISIS (Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
) of former law enforcement officers in and around Mosul," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "ISIS should be held accountable for these crimes against humanity."

Link

Arabia

Yemen’s Baha’is face persecution as they struggle to practice their faith

2016-09-14

[RUDAW.NET] Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara disappeared into the labyrinth of Yemen’s National Security Bureau three years ago. His crime: being a Baha’i. His wife says the last time she called him and spoke to him was in December 2013.

Since his disappearance, Haydara has been accused of "apostasy", "insulting Islam", and calling on Moslems to "embrace the Baha’i religion".

New York-based Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
says that the prosecution in Haydara’s trial has asked for the death penalty for him. It says that. "Most of the charges against Haydara relate to his practice of the Baha’i faith."

Yemeni authorities allege that Haydara is an Iranian citizen who entered the country in 1991 under a false name while working for Israel.

"We reject this accusation" his wife, Elham Muhammad Hossain Zara’i, told Rudaw.

"We have lived in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
for decades. The father of my husband was the first doctor on Socotra island. His name is Dr. Kamal. But they always link us to that issue (of Israel) because the Baha’i administration body is in Israel, and our holy site is based in Israel. That is why they link us to the state of Israel."

Haifa, in present-day Israel, has been the Baha’i faith’s administrative headquarters since Ottoman Rule in 17 century.

The writer is confused about how one numbers centuries from the year of the date. Since the Bab was born in 1819 and was executed in 1850, that would be the 19th century. His remains were reburied on Mt. Carmel 50 years later, in the 20th century. His successor, the Baha'ullah, was banished to Akko in 1868, dying there in 1892. Like the Muslims go to Mecca, Baha'i are supposd to make pilgrimage to Haifa at least once.

In Moslem Yemen, the law does not recognize any other minority religion except Judaism. Embracing any other religion is a punishable crime.

"The Baha’i faith is not recognized in the constitution, the tradition or by Islam. Therefore, it is a forbidden religion. If a Yemeni renounces his religion and declares himself a Baha’I, this is a crime to be tried at court." an official from the ministry of justice said.

"But if the person is from a foreign country and visits us, they can practice their religion at home in private, and this is not a crime and will not be punished," he explained.

Yemen has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1987, safeguarding the freedom of religion.

"Yemeni authorities have committed an injustice by prosecuting Haydara for his religious beliefs and compounding that injustice by seeking to execute him," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of HRW. "The charges should be dropped and Haydara should be released."

HRW, which has published a detailed report on Haydara's case, says the judiciary system has been slowed down by the war in Yemen.

"The authorities have to deal with the issue, even if that means in contradiction to the law. We shall not allow the war to affect our humanity." a rights activist from the local Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, which has monitored Haydar's case closely, told Rudaw

According to Baha'i estimates, there are about 2,000 Baha'is in Yemen. Their appearance in a protest in April for the first time amounted to declaring their religion as part of Yemeni society.

Link

Arabia

Yemeni rivals set to resume UN peace talks in Kuwait

2016-05-05

[AA.TR] Yemen’s warring rivals are set to resume UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait on Wednesday.

The resumption of talks comes three days after the government delegation suspended its participation in the negotiations, citing alleged ceasefire violations by the Shia Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
group.

The UN-brokered talks began on April 11 in an attempt to resolve the one-year conflict in the Arab country.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Senate, the partisans of Honorius went for their knives and the partisans of Stilicho went for the doors...
Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
on Wednesday called on Yemen’s warring rivals to address what it called "war crimes" during the conflict.

"It's crucial for the Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
peace talks to address past atrocities as well as future political arrangements," Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, said in a statement. "A mechanism should be put in place to investigate abuses, prosecute those responsible and assist the victims."

The government delegation has demanded the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls on the Houthis to withdraw from Yemeni cities and to lay down their arms.

According to UN figures, the ongoing conflict has led to the death of more than 6,400 Yemenis to date and forced some 2.5 million to flee their homes.

Link

Arabia

Houthi rebels accused of confiscating aid

2016-02-01

Krazee Islamic fighters gotta eat, too...
Human Rights Watch on Sunday accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of confiscating humanitarian aid sent into Taez, urging the Iran-backed insurgents to allow access into the besieged city.

The rebels "should immediately end the unlawful confiscation of goods intended for the civilian population and permit full access by aid agencies," HRW said in a statement.

"Seizing property from civilians is already unlawful, but taking their food and medical supplies is simply cruel," its deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Joe Stork, said.

HRW said the population of the city had dropped from about 600,000 to no more than 200,000 civilians after many fled the fighting, according to UN figures.

Since at least September, the rights watchdog said, rebel guards at checkpoints have confiscated water, food, cooking gas and medical supplies that residents tried to carry into besieged areas.

International relief agencies are also facing difficulties bringing in food and medicine, HRW said.

Doctors Without Borders said it delivered essential medical supplies to hospitals in the city in early January, in the first such ‘significant’ shipment since August.

That came several days after a Saudi charity said that aircraft of the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting the rebels had dropped 40 tonnes of medical equipment and food to Taez.

The coalition has since March conducted air and ground operations in Yemen to support local forces against the rebels and their allies.

More than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen since March, about half of them civilians, according to the UN

Link

Africa North

Rockets smashed into two Tawerghan refugee camps in Benghazi

2016-01-27

Human Rights Watch has reported that at the start of the month, four rockets were fired into two Tawerghan refugee camps in Benghazi, killing three inhabitants and injuring seven others including two children.

HRW said that three rockets hit the Red Crescent camp to deadly effect while the fourth rocket struck the nearby Istijaba camp causing some damage but no casualties.

Witnesses told HRW investigators that there had been no military forces anywhere near either camp.

“Firing rockets into displaced persons’ camps with no military present shows utter disregard for civilian lives,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director. “Armed forces and militias need to do their utmost to protect civilians and ensure they are out of harm’s way.”

A witness said that it was thought that the rockets came from the Gwarsha area of the city, a district which is currently controlled by IS. HRW said it had been told that the attack on the Red Crescent Camp lasted for half an hour and most of the injuries were from shrapnel that scythed through fragile makeshift shelters, most made from fibreglass piping.

Link

Arabia

HRW: Saudi-led Coalition Bombs Yemeni Homes in Capital

2015-12-22

[ALMANAR.LB] Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
said on Monday that the Saudi-led coalition which has been launching an aggression against Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
carried out unlawful ~~Arclight~~ airstrikes in residential areas in Sanaa, causing civilian deaths.

The New York-based organization also slammed the coalition members and the United States, saying they were "required under the laws of war to investigate such attacks, but they have not."

"Human Rights Watch found no evidence of any military target in an ~~Arclight~~ airstrike on the Old City and on al-Asbahi neighborhood in September," HRW said in an article on its website on Monday.Destruction in Yemen

"Airstrikes that caused civilian casualties on homes on Marib Street and in the neighborhoods of Hadda, al-Hassaba, and Thabwa hit 200 meters or more from possible military objectives. These attacks failed to distinguish civilians from military objectives or caused disproportionate civilian loss."

The organization quoted Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director as asking: "How many civilians will die in unlawful ~~Arclight~~ airstrikes in Yemen before the coalition and its US ally investigate what went wrong and who is responsible.

"Their disregard for the safety of civilians is appalling."

One coalition attack struck a house in Sanaa's Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on the night of September 13, killing 18 civilians and wounding many others, HRW said.

According to the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
, most of the 2,500 civilian deaths, since the coalition began its military campaign in late March, have been from coalition ~~Arclight~~ airstrikes.

Meanwhile,
...back at the desert island, Irene was indignant at the thought of doing such a thing without benefit of clergy...
Human Rights Watch said it was unaware of any investigations by Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
or other members of the nine-nation coalition into these or other allegedly unlawful strikes, or of any compensation for victims.

"The US, by coordinating and directly assisting coalition military operations, is a party to the conflict and as such is obligated to investigate allegedly unlawful attacks in which it took part."

The coalition has repeatedly used aerial bombs with wide-area effect in populated areas, creating the likelihood of civilian casualties even when a military target is hit, Human Rights Watch said.

The attacks Human Rights Watch documented used large air-dropped bombs, weighing from 250 kilograms to as much as 1,000 kilograms. These would have blast, thermal, and fragmentation effects in a radius of dozens or hundreds of meters of impact.

Link

Iraq

HRW: Shiite militias violated laws of war in Tikrit battle

2015-09-23

[Rudaw] Pro-Iraqi government Shiite militias were in violation of the laws of war in retaking the city of Tikrit from ISIS bully boyz in March and April 2015, according to a report released Sunday by Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
."Militiamen deliberately destroyed several hundred civilian buildings with no apparent military reason after the withdrawal of the Lion of Islam gang Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
, also known as ISIS, from the area," HRW said in a blurb promoting the report.

The 60-page report, "Ruinous Aftermath: Militia Abuses Following Iraq's Recapture of Tikrit," used satellite imagery to confirm eyewitness accounts.

After ISIS fled Tikrit, "Hizbollah Battalions and League of Righteous forces, two of the largely [Shiite] pro-government militias, kidnapped more than 200 Sunni residents, including children, near al-Dur, south of Tikrit," according to the release. "At least 160 of those kidnapped remain unaccounted for."

In addition to being an ISIS stronghold, Tikrit, the capital of Salahadin province, was the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, who frequently targeted and killed Shiites.

Before the beginning of the Tikrit campaign, Shiite militia leaders swore to avenge a June 2014 ISIS massacre of at least 770 Shiite military cadets at the Camp Speicher facility near Tikrit, according to HRW. This may have accounted for the Shiites' harsh tactics towards Tikrit's Sunni residents.

HRW said Shiite militias were also responsible for the extrajudicial killings of suspected ISIS prisoners, and that a police officer had seen suspects bumped off after surrendering. Rooters journalists in Tikrit saw another suspected ISIS fighter stabbed to death by a federal police officer.

Sheikh Malik Shahhab, a prominent businessman and brother of al-Dur's mayor, according to the report told HRW he overheard a Shiite fighter say, "We burned and destroyed al-Dur, because they (the residents) are ISIS and Baathists."

"Iraqi authorities need to discipline and hold accountable the out-of-control militias laying waste to Sunni homes and shops after driving ISIS out," Joe Stork, HRW's deputy Middle East director, said in the report. "Abusive militias and their commanders acting with impunity undermine the campaign against ISIS and put all civilians at greater risk."

The Shiite militias cited by HRW in the report are part of the Hashd al-Shaabi, the Arabic term for "Popular Mobilization Units," or PMUs. The PMU's were stood up by a fatwa called by Iraq's Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in June 2014 following the regular Iraqi army's total failure to halt ISIS' blitz of western and northern Iraq. The PMUs receive equipment and salaries from the central government. They have also received support and training from Iran.

HRW in its report called on the US and Iran, the two biggest supporters of the central Iraqi government, to hold the PMUs accountable for their actions and numerous human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
abuses.

Link

Africa North

Saadi Gadafy abuse video condemned by rights groups

2015-08-05

[IRISHTIMES] A video appearing to show Saadi Gadafy, son of Libya's late dictator Muammar, being abused in jail has been condemned by lawyers and rights groups.

The nine-minute video appears to show Saadi (42) in a green tracksuit, being hooked up to an improvised rack, apparently while in jug at Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
's maximum security al-Hadba prison. Segments show him sitting blindfolded and forced to listen to screams of other detainees being beaten in an adjacent room.

"It raises serious concerns about the methods used to interrogate al-Saadi Qadaffy and other detainees at al-Hadba prison," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
. "The Tripoli authorities need to urgently establish exactly what did occur."

The video's release, by Arabic network Clear News, has alarmed lawyers worried about the treatment of other detainees at al-Hadba, where former Gadfy-era officials are held.

"This is a shocking video that raises questions about conditions inside the prison," said Karim Khan QC, London-based lawyer for Libya's former prime minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, also at al-Hadba. "The international community needs to demand a full investigation."

Link

Africa North

Tens of Egyptians 'secretly' arrested, missing, Human Rights Watch says

2015-07-22

[Iran Press TV] Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
(HRW) says dozens of Egyptians have disappeared after being "secretly" detained by the country's security forces.

On Monday, the rights group said dozens of cases of enforced disappearances had been documented from 2013 through 2015.

"Egyptian security forces have apparently snatched up dozens of people without a word about where they are or what has happened to them," said the HRW deputy Middle East director Joe Stork.

The HRW said three of the cases it documented involved individuals who had been found dead after being incarcerated
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
and taken to an unknown location.

On June 4, Seyed al-Rassed, 46, was arrested in Qalyubia Province by plainclothes coppers and a Central Security Forces officer. Days later, his family was notified that his body, which bore torture marks, was at a mortuary.

The rights organization also listed a number of other individuals who remain missing.

The HRW added that the independent civil society organization Freedom for the Brave said in a report on June 7 that it had documented 164 cases of enforced disappearances since April 2015. The organization says 66 people are still missing. It later reported an additional 39 cases to the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), saying most of them took place in April and May.

The HRW says enforced disappearances are considered a serious violation of international human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
law. The US-based organization also said enforced disappearance is considered a crime against humanity if carried out systematically as a matter of policy.

Link

Iraq

Iraq forces looted, burned after breaking IS siege: HRW

2015-03-19

[Al Ahram] Iraqi troops and militia looted and burned homes and destroyed villages after breaking the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group's months-long siege of a Turkmen town last August, Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
said Wednesday.

"Following the operations to end the Amerli siege, pro-government militias and volunteer fighters as well as Iraqi security forces raided Sunni villages and neighbourhoods around Amerli in Salaheddin and Kirkuk provinces," the New York-based group said in a report.

"During the raids, militiamen, volunteer fighters and Iraqi security forces looted possessions of civilians who fled fighting during the onslaught on Amerli, burned homes and businesses of the villages' Sunni residents," HRW said.

They also "used explosives and heavy equipment to destroy individual buildings or entire villages," it added.

HRW said that many of the villages targeted in the raids were ones that IS jihadists had either passed through or used as bases to attack Amerli.

"Iraq can't win the fight against (IS) atrocities with attacks on civilians that violate the laws of war and fly in the face of human decency," its deputy Middle East and North Africa director, Joe Stork, said.

"Militia abuses are wreaking havoc among some of Iraq's most vulnerable people and exacerbating sectarian hostilities."

IS spearheaded an offensive last June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, sweeping security forces aside.

Reeling from the assault, Baghdad turned to Popular Mobilisation units -- paramilitary forces that are dominated by pre-existing Shia militias.

The units have played a key role in the fight to drive IS back, but relying on such groups further entrenches them in Iraq, giving them an expanded power base that will be difficult to dislodge.

Link

Arabia

Kuwait Revokes More Citizenships Citing State Security

2014-08-12

[AnNahar] Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of 10 people, including activists, the government said Monday in the second such move in less than a month as part of a crackdown on dissent.

The decision announced after a cabinet meeting did not identify those affected by the decision, but local media said they were opposition figures.

The cabinet said the decision was based on a provision in the nationality law that allows citizenship to be revoked of those who threaten Kuwait's security, social order or economy.

Local media said among those affected were activist Nabil al-Awadhi, who is close to the Moslem Brüderbund, and Saad al-Ajami, a former journalist turned front man for the opposition Popular Action Movement.

On July 21, Kuwait revoked the citizenship of several people, including the owner of a pro-opposition television station and newspaper, Ahmad Jabr al-Shammari, and former Islamist opposition MP Abdullah al-Barghash along with his family members.

Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
denounced the action in a statement on Sunday as a "crackdown on people seeking reform".

"No government has the right to strip away its people's citizenship simply because it disapproves of them, their opinions, or their actions," said HRW's Joe Stork.

"This is yet another downward step in Kuwait's assault on the right to free speech," he added, urging the government to reverse its decision.

Last month, the cabinet said the citizenships of Barghash and his relatives were revoked because they had been granted on the basis of false information.

OPEC member Kuwait has a native population of 1.25 million, a large number of them through naturalization, and hosts 2.8 million foreigners.

Unlike other Gulf states, it has a democratically-elected parliament.

Link

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