Kuwait: Further information: Leyla al-Darmalalli released
Long-term Kuwait resident Leyla al-Darmalalli was released from prison and has returned to Egypt voluntarily.
Further information on UA: 224/14 Index: MDE 17/010/2014 Kuwait Date: 2 December 2014
URGENT ACTION
LEYLA AL-DARMALALLI RELEASED
Long-term Kuwait resident Leyla al-Darmalalli was released from prison and has returned
to Egypt voluntarily.
Leyla Mohammad Ali al-Darmalalli, 66, an Egyptian national who had been living in Kuwait for the past 40 years,
returned to Egypt voluntarily on 23 October. She had been detained in the women’s section of Kuwait’s Central
Prison since 2 September, when she was arrested while on her way to visit her son Abdullah Fairouz in Kuwait’s
Central Prison. Her lawyer filed an appeal against the deportation order based on the fact that her residency permit
was valid until 2017; that she presented no threat to the authorities and that she was the mother of Kuwaiti citizens
on whom she depended for care, due to her ill-health. A General Court initially set 10 February 2015 for its first
hearing into the case but this was changed to 16 December 2014 at her lawyer’s request.
While she was detained, Leyla al-Darmalalli was allowed to see doctors several times as she is a diabetic and a
wheelchair user, and suffered from back pain. The mattress in her cell was not suitable and she ended up sleeping
in her wheel chair. The walking stick she used to walk to the bathroom was confiscated. She felt that due to the
conditions of her detention she could no longer wait for the legal proceedings against her deportation to conclude,
and left the country voluntarily.
Leyla al-Darmalalli’s son, Abdullah Fairouz, is a human rights activist who was unfairly convicted of insulting the
Amir of Kuwait, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. He later had two years added to his sentence, but it is
not clear whether these are to be served concurrently or sequentially. He is a prisoner of conscience.
No further action is requested by the UA Network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
This is the first update of UA 224/14. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE17/007/2014/en
Name: Leyla al-Darmalalli
Gender m/f: f
Further information on UA: 224/14 Index: MDE 17/010/2014 Issue Date: 2 December 2014