Iraq has handed outspoken opposition figure and activist Salman Al Khalidi over to Kuwait, where he has been sentenced to prison.
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry announced it had taken custody of Al Khalidi in a statement on X late on Wednesday. His arrest and handover were confirmed in a brief statement from Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Brig Gen Muqdad Miri.
Al Khalidi was convicted of 11 charges and had been a fugitive since December 2023, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said. It did not provide details of the charges he faced or the prison terms handed down.
The Kuwaiti ministry's statement was accompanied by an image of Al Khalidi at the Al Abdali border crossing with Iraq's Basra province. Another image showed senior officials including Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani with Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al Sabah.
The statement said Al Khalidi's arrest and handover were a “security achievement reflecting the strength of the international co-operation and the co-ordination of efforts among brotherly nations”.
Al Khalidi arrived in Iraq recently, his posts on social media show. He has posted online criticising Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal, the ruling family and the government. He accused Kuwaiti authorities of corruption and rights breaches, focusing on a decree last year to dissolve parliament and the move to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals and people found to have provided false information or forged documents.
Relations between Iraq and Kuwait have improved in recent years after they were severed following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in 1990.
After the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam’s regime, Iraq and Kuwait reopened their embassies and strengthened co-operation in many fields.
However, there are still pending issues dating back to Saddam’s invasion, particularly disputes over their maritime border and joint oilfields.
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
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