By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The higher commission for citizenship agreed on Thursday to revoke the citizenship of 133 Kuwaiti nationals. The Interior Ministry said the decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Interior and Defense Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah. The decision becomes effective only after it is approved by the Council of Ministers. One of those who was stripped off his citizenship is Hasan Abdulhadi Hajjeh. Hajjeh was sentenced to death by the Criminal Court and later the Court of Cassation, the top court in the country, reduced the sentence to life in jail. In the past few months, Kuwait revoked the citizenship of hundreds of Kuwaitis, mostly naturalized, on the grounds of obtaining nationality by cheating.

In another development, the Interior Ministry exempted Kuwaitis residing abroad from the measures against citizens who did not make the biometric fingerprints before the deadline on September 30. Authorities have stopped all applications at government departments for those who failed to make the fingerprints. The Interior Ministry is still allowing such people to make fingerprints. The deadline for expats is at the end of 2024.