Kuwaiti security forces arrested ‘Abdulhakim al-Fadhli
in the evening of 18 April while he was participating in a peaceful
private gathering at the residence of former Kuwaiti parliamentarian,
Musallam Al Barrak, a prisoner of conscience. On 19 April, officials
transferred ‘Abdulhakim al-Fadhli to Kuwait's Central Prison where he
has remained in detention since. Immediately following his arrest, he
began a hunger strike in protest.
On
20 February, a Kuwaiti appeal court had upheld a January 2015
conviction against him of one year’s imprisonment followed by
deportation, handed down for alleged public order offences arising from
his participation in a peaceful gathering on 19 February 2014 in Taima,
west of Kuwait City. This gathering marked the anniversary of peaceful
demonstrations held in February 2011, calling on the Kuwaiti government
to extend citizenship rights to the stateless Bidun community living in
Kuwait.
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