After many transgressions were recorded in cemeteries, the Director of the Funeral Affairs Department at the Kuwait Municipality, Dr. Faisal Al-Awadi, stressed the need to quickly set up security and health points in all cemeteries, and install surveillance cameras at the gates, entrances and exits, and between the blocks designated for burial.
Al-Awadi said, in a statement to Al-Rai, that “traffic patrols were present in the cemeteries for a short period previously to regulate traffic, and then they disappeared, and this matter has negative repercussions, especially since the cemeteries receive thousands of visitors daily, which requires follow-up, control and organization.”
He called for granting the funeral director’s inspectors the status of judicial officers to enable them to issue citations immediately for anyone who violates the funeral regulations.
Al-Awadi indicated that he sent a letter to the Deputy Director General for Services Affairs confirming that “the administration is keen on the sanctity of graves and cemeteries, their maintenance, and follow-up on all matters related to them, and that photographing graves is a violation of the circular issued by the Director General of Kuwait Municipality, which strictly prohibits photography inside cemeteries” using cameras of all kinds to avoid legal accountability.
Commenting on a video clip posted on the Internet showing a person collecting truffles from the graveyard, Al-Awadi stressed that “this act is a violation of the sanctity of graves, and resembles exhumation of graves,” explaining that he has “addressed the competent authority to take legal measures, and not be lenient in this regard.”
Article 3 of the Cemetery Regulatory Regulation states that “cemeteries may not be used for purposes other than those designated for them,” while Article 6 stresses “the need to preserve the sanctity of graves.”
Article 8 indicates that “the sanctity of the dead is preserved during its washing, shrouding and burial,” while “the value of a fine for those who violate these articles is not less than 2,000 dinars and not more than 5,000 dinars.”