Hong Kong Convicts Tiananmen Organizers, Egypt Revokes Citizenship

HRF condemns the actions taken by the regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in August to remove the citizenship of 25 Egyptians.The actions of Egypt’s dictator reflect a growing trend across fully authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa.

Dictatorships throughout the region have ramped up threats to strip thousands of citizens of any remaining civil or political rights, creating an unchecked chilling effect that extinguishes civil society and forces widespread self-censorship.

In Kuwait, the regime has revoked the nationality of more than 70,000 citizens and up to 230,000 dependents, affecting an estimated 5-16% of citizens, since Emir Meshal came to power in 2023. In April, the regime in Bahrain stripped 69 citizens of their nationality in a single day.

HRF calls on the international community to raise awareness of the growing threat of forced statelessness facing citizens throughout the MENA region. Read more about the fully authoritarian regimes of Egypt, Kuwait, and Bahrain in HRF’s Tyranny Tracker.