Kuwait summons US Embassy over pro-homosexuality tweets

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the United States Embassy's top diplomat over tweets the embassy published that "support homosexuality", the ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait tweeted earlier Thursday: "All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love."

The US embassy in Kuwait had published a picture of an LGBTQI+ flag on its Instagram and Twitter accounts to mark the start of Pride Month on June 1.

Many in Kuwait took to social media to express their discontent over the posts, saying they went against the country's Muslim beliefs.

Kuwait said it handed the charge d'affaires a memorandum stating its rejection of what was published and stressing the need for the embassy to respect the laws and regulations in force in the State of Kuwait and the obligation not to publish such tweets.

Homosexuality is punishable by law in a number of majority Muslim countries, includingKuwait.

But in February Kuwait's constitutional court overturned a law that criminalises "imitation of the opposite sex" in a move Amnesty International said was a breakthrough for transgender rights in the region.

The US embassies in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also shared similar posts marking Pride Month.

The U.S Embassy in Saudi Arabia published on June 1 a tweet that included support for the LGBTQI+ community, saying: "During #Pride2022, @StateDept celebrates the contributions members of the LGBTQI+ community make to our nation. We are committed to ending violence, discrimination, and stigma against LGBTQI+ persons worldwide".

[With inputs from agencies]

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