Kuwait deports hundreds of expatriates for traffic offenses

Kuwait has deported hundreds of expats for traffic offenses in the past month, a report said yesterday, drawing condemnation from a human rights group.
The Al-Anbaa newspaper cited a senior Interior Ministry official as saying that as many as 1,258 foreigners have been deported for traffic violations since a crackdown began about a month ago.
Foreign residents caught driving without a license, using their cars to carry paying passengers, jumping a red light for a second time, or breaking the speed limit by more than 40 km per hour, can be deported without a court order.
The Kuwait Society for Human Rights called on the government to halt the deportations describing them as “oppressive.”
“The oppressive measure against expatriates ... violates the basic principles of human rights,” it said. The group warned that the measure could tarnish the Gulf state’s image.
Kuwaiti nationals who commit similar offenses have their vehicles seized and can be sent to court.
Last month, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Thekra Al-Rasheedi said the emirate plans to deport around 100,000 expatriates every year for the next decade to reduce the number of foreigners living in the Gulf state by one million.