Amnesty International Report 2025/26 — Kuwait (events of 2025)

GOVERNANCE AND UPR. Parliament remained suspended and legislative changes were made by executive decree without parliamentary oversight. In September the Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of Kuwait's UPR: 290 recommendations, 206 accepted, four partially accepted, 80 noted; Kuwait did not accept recommendations on freedom of expression, statelessness, discrimination against women, migrant workers' rights and the death penalty.

EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY. The Penal Code and cybercrime law criminalise "insulting" religion, the Amir or foreign heads of state; the Public Gatherings Law criminalises unpermitted assemblies of more than 20. Amnesty reports transnational repression: bloggers Salman al-Khalidi and Mesaed Al-Musaileem were deported to Kuwait from Iraq and Malaysia and detained. In April former MPs Anwar Al-Fikr, Hamad Al-Olayan, Hussain Al-Qallaf, Mesaed Al-Quraifah and Walid Al-Tabtabaei were sentenced to two to four years for criticism of the authorities; former deputy speaker Mohammed Al-Mutair was charged with "insulting" the Amir at a seminar and his assets frozen. In July Mohammad Al-Barghash was sentenced to three years for criticising anti-Bidun policies.

MIGRANTS. The Foreigners' Residence Law entered into force in January: Article 19 bars migrants from working for anyone without their original employer's permission or Interior Ministry approval; Article 20 allows deportation on grounds of "public interest, security, or morals" without judicial oversight or appeal. From 1 July private-sector workers needed an employer-approved exit permit, which Amnesty calls a reintroduction of a key feature of kafala.

BIDUN, RELIGION, WOMEN. Most Bidun children remained barred from free government schools unless an exemption applied. Outdoor Ashura processions were banned, with night-time curfews on mosques and a limit of 50 at private gatherings. Personal status laws continued to disadvantage women.

NATIONALITY. Authorities revoked the citizenship of "tens of thousands" by retroactively applying changes to the Nationality Law, mainly women naturalised by marriage.

LAW REFORM. In March an executive decree repealed Penal Code Article 153; such killings became punishable by life imprisonment or death. Also in March, decrees amended Article 26 of the Personal Status Law and Article 15 of the Ja'fari Personal Status Law to set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for all (previously 15 for girls and 17 for boys).

DEATH PENALTY. New death sentences and executions, including for drug offences; a new Anti-Narcotics Law in force in December retains the death penalty for drug offences.

USE IN A REPORT: Amnesty's annual country chapter, a standard reference for a year's events. The page is undated; cite it as Amnesty International Report 2025/26.

The chapter's account of the 2025 law reforms (repeal of Article 153 in March; minimum marriage age of 18) agrees with the Dossier's Penal Code entry and with the UN Special Rapporteur's report. Its UPR figures agree with Human Rights Watch's statement of 30 September 2025 (206 recommendations accepted). The chapter gives no number for the citizenship withdrawals ("tens of thousands"); for a figure, use a dated source such as the Special Rapporteur's report. The Dossier also holds Amnesty's chapters for 2016 and 2017.