Prominent Journalist Ahmed Shihab Eldin Has Been Arrested In Kuwait For Sharing A Video Of The War In Iran
Authorities have reportedly charged Shihab Eldin with spreading false information, harming national security and misuse of a mobile phone.
Prominent American-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab Eldin, who is of Palestinian descent, has been arrested for over six weeks in Kuwait for sharing a video on social media related to the US and Israel’s war in Iran.
Since the US and Israel began their war on Feb. 28, Gulf governments clamped down hard on what people could say about it online.
Kuwait's government published a list of strict "guidelines" for media coverage, including a ban on publishing or circulating "rumors, unverified news, or misleading information” and warned against filming or publishing anything related to Iranian attacks.
Eldin, a 41-year-old award-winning journalist who has worked with Al Jazeera, VICE, PBS and the New York Times and has more than two million social media followers, was visiting his family in Kuwait City when he was arrested, according to Drop Site News.
In his last post on March 2 before his arrest, he had reshared CNN footage of a US Air Force fighter jet crashing near a US base in Kuwait in friendly fire, a video that had been geolocated and verified by CNN.
Shihab Eldin was then reportedly arrested on March 3 and has been in prison since, with limited access to his lawyer and no public explanation from Kuwaiti authorities, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Authorities have reportedly charged him with spreading false information, harming national security and misuse of a mobile phone, which rights groups have condemned as vague accusations routinely used to silence journalists, according to Newsweek.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for Shihab Eldin's immediate and unconditional release.
"Journalism is not a crime," Sara Qudah, the CPJ's regional director, said. "Shihab-Eldin's case reflects a broader pattern of using national security laws to stifle scrutiny and control the narrative."
Kuwait has also enforced a new law on March 15, which criminalizes coverage of military‑related events.
The law imposes prison sentences of up to 10 years on anyone who “disseminates news, publishes statements, or spreads false rumors related to military entities” with the intent of undermining confidence in those entities.
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights said it has received credible reports that the Kuwaiti government has carried out dozens of arbitrary arrests of people who peacefully expressed their opinions on social media since the war began.
Most were held in secret State Security prisons for several days, denied contact with their families or lawyers, before being referred to Public Prosecution, according to Drop Site News.
In the UAE, authorities said police had detained 375 people across Abu Dhabi in a similar crackdown.
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