Manama: Kuwait has arrested six more Egyptians for using their social media accounts to insult the country and incite their fellow citizens to hold protests and demonstrations.

“The security authorities have arrested six Egyptian nationals on the charge of abusing their Facebook accounts to post and disseminate insults and abuses targeting Kuwait, its institutions and its citizens,” the interior ministry said. “The suspects also used their social media accounts to incite the Egyptian community, call for strikes and fuel feelings of hatred following the brawl that has recently occurred inside and in front of a shopping mall in Hawalli.”

The ministry said the remarks and calls on the social media blatantly violated the laws and public order, undermined security, put the lives of citizens and expatriates at risk and stalled public and private interests.

The suspects who were identified by the national security agency were named as Ahmad Al Sayyed Mohammad Farah, Ahmad Jaber Ahmad Abdul Salam, Mohammad Faraj Ali Salim, Tariq Abdul Hameed Abdul Hakeem Abdul Hameed, Mohammad Al Shawadfi Abeed Al Shawadfi, and Abdul Rahman Mohammad Abdul Rahman Ahmad.

They were all referred to the relevant authorities for investigation, the ministry added.

“The ministry stresses it is fully determined to continue exerting all efforts not to allow any acts or activities that might undermine public security and order and warns everyone against abusing social media. All people are equal before the law and justice will take its course unhindered,” the ministry said.

The arrests bring the number of those held by the Kuwaiti authorities in five days to ten.

On Friday, four Egyptians, including one woman, were arrested after they called for staging a protest rally in front of their embassy in the capital Kuwait City.

The four expatriates used social media to post abusive expressions and to insult Kuwait and its institutions and citizens, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The detainees posted messages on various platforms inciting the Kuwaiti community to hold a demonstration in front of the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait.

“The suspects sought to incite hatred following the brawl between expatriates and Kuwaiti citizens that had broken out recently in a shopping centre in Hawalli,” the statement, carried by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) said on Friday evening. “What the four did was a blatant violation of the law and a transgression of the public order that puts the lives of Kuwaiti citizens and expatriates at risk and stalls public and private interests.”

The ministry named the four Egyptians as Waleed Mahmoud Ahmad Al Suwaisi, an employee at the interior ministry, Yasser Abdul Aziz, a religion teacher at the ministry of endowments and Islamic affairs, Mustafa Mahmoud Mahfoodh, a controller in a company, and Mona Ali Shahata, an employee at a kindergarten.

The suspects were referred to the relevant investigation authorities, and the ministry said that it would be relentless in its endeavours to prevent any action that may disrupt public order and security.

An Egyptian expatriate was killed and two others — an Egyptian and one Kuwaiti citizen — were seriously injured in the brawl that broke out between Egyptian workers and two Kuwaitis in an electronics shop in Rihab Mall.

Reports said nine Kuwaitis and 15 Egyptians were implicated in the scuffle that erupted when Kuwaiti clients argued with Egyptian salesmen in an electronics shop over the price of a PlayStation.

According to the reports, Egyptians in nearby shops joined in the fight while the Kuwaitis were helped by friends.

The Egyptian was killed when a Kuwaiti used his car to hit a group of Egyptians.

The police said that those involved in the scuffle, including the car driver, were arrested.

However, several Egyptians have been critical of their embassy in Kuwait, alleging it was slow in its reaction to the incident.

Two weeks ago, Kuwaiti authorities said they were deporting 18 Egyptians and five Syrians for their involvement in a brawl in an industrial area. The police said no Kuwaiti was involved in the scuffle.

Kuwait has been following a zero-tolerance policy towards public fights and scuffles or disruption of public order.

While Kuwaitis implicated are fined or jailed, expatriates are deported promptly without the need for a court order.