Kuwait strips tens of thousands of citizens of nationality

More than 40,000 Kuwaitis have been stripped of their nationality over the past six months — a purge that has accelerated since Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al Sabah dissolved the country’s parliament in May.

The government says the process targets those who have obtained the nationality illegally, but human rights groups say political opponents are affected, and that the country, once a democratic example in the region, is moving toward autocracy.

Kuwait’s economy contracted in each of the past two years, and reducing the number of citizens means fewer people will benefit from the “generous advantages offered by the Kuwaiti welfare state,” an expert told France24.

But it remains unclear what the consequences will be: Banks are preparing for potential loan defaults from those who lost citizenship, the Financial Times reported, and many of the newly stateless are considering emigration.