Syrian man, father, gets 7 yrs in forgery of Kuwaiti citizenship case

KUWAIT CITY, July 11: The Kuwaiti Nationality Investigation Committee reviewed a forgery case involving a 50-year-old Syrian man who was sentenced to seven years in prison, along with his father, who was also charged in the same case. The father had conspired with a now deceased Kuwaiti citizen to fraudulently add his son to the Kuwaiti citizenship file. According to informed sources, the Syrian father confessed to the committee that he had entered Kuwait illegally in the 1960s. He later concealed his Syrian documents after entering the country by bus from Syria through Iraq and into Al- Abdali, without presenting any official identification documents.

The father had pretended to be a stateless (Bedoun), hoping to obtain Kuwaiti citizenship. However, after years of unsuccessful attempts, he resorted to adding his son to the Kuwaiti citizenship file belonging to his Kuwaiti friend. The father stated he remained a Bedoun resident until 1996, when he lost hope of ever being granted citizenship. He then requested permission to travel back to his home country to rectify his status and was granted a passport under Article 17.

The father traveled to Syria, where he legalized his status, and later returned to Kuwait holding a Syrian passport. He has remained a resident of Kuwait as a Syrian expatriate ever since. The son, who obtained Kuwaiti citizenship fraudulently, studied in Kuwait as a Kuwaiti citizen and was employed by a government agency, where he worked until shortly before his retirement. However, his fraud was eventually uncovered, and he was convicted and is currently serving a prison sentence in the Central Jail.