Kuwait detains Bidoon protesters, Amnesty calls for their release

Kuwait should immediately release 18 people detained for allegedly taking part in a demonstration calling for greater rights for the Gulf state's Bidoon population, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Eighteen people, including six Kuwaiti nationals, were summoned by the ministry of interior on 30 and 31 August after  a demonstration broke out in al-Jahra province, west of Kuwait City, last Friday calling for the closure of a government agency managing Bidoon affairs.

Kuwait activists say that the Central System for the Remedy of the Situation of Illegal Residents is used by authorities to target the stateless group and hinders their access to healthcare, education, and government services.

Bidoon - meaning "without" in Arabic - are Arab people living in Kuwait without nationality and who face routine discrimination in the country.

Bidoons say their ancestors did not register for citizenship when the British protectorate in Kuwait ended in 1961 but are native to the land.

Kuwaiti authorities accuse them of being the descendants of migrants who moved to Kuwait after the country gained its independence.

The Bidoon- believed to number in the tens of thousands - are unable to access schools, hospitals, social services, and jobs open to other Kuwaitis due to their stateless situation and lack of documentation. Their plight has led to suicides, protests and immigration out of the country.

"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 in a press release.

Amnesty called for the release of the 18 people who have been detained since Tuesday and Wednesday, awaiting questioning by the public prosecution.

"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," Guellali said.