Kuwait's foreign ministry summons U.S. Embassy official over tweets

Reuters
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(Reuters) - Kuwait's Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the United States Embassy's acting charge d'affaires 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."

"@POTUS is a champion for the human rights of #LGBTQI persons."

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, including Kuwait.

The U.S Embassy in Saudi Arabia published on June 1 a tweet that included support for the LGBT 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".

Saudi Arabia is home to the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina.

(Reporting by Moataz Mohamed and Lilian Wagdy; Editing by Richard Pullin)