American Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who had been detained by authorities in Kuwait since March, has been acquitted of all charges and is expected to be released imminently, lawyers representing his sisters announced Thursday.
“We are relieved that, after 52 days of detention, Ahmed has been found innocent on all charges,” attorney Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC said in a statement. “Our focus now is upon ensuring the liberty and safety of our client, and we will provide more details once they can be confirmed.”
Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning journalist who has worked for HuffPost and Al Jazeera, was visiting family in Kuwait when he was arrested on March 3. He had not posted online since March 2, and his Instagram and X accounts have vanished.
While the reason for Shihab-Eldin’s arrest remains unclear, some reports suggest the charges he faced were related to press restrictions in Kuwait. Gallagher KC did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.
The 41-year-old journalist shared publicly available videos and images related to the conflict in Iran in the days leading up to his detainment. The content Shihab-Eldin reposted was verified by other news outlets and was not his original content, according to the press freedom advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists.
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Several countries in the region, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, impose restrictions on media, some of which have intensified amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Kuwait’s Ministry of Information issued a warning the day before Shihab-Eldin’s arrest to “not to photograph or publish any clips or information related to missiles or relevant locations.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists has repeatedly called on the Kuwaiti government “to immediately and unconditionally” release Shihab-Eldin, saying, “Journalism is not a crime.”
“Ahmed’s freedom and safety remain our topmost priority and we will continue to closely monitor his case,” Jodie Ginsberg, the group’s CEO, said in a statement Thursday. She added that she was “relieved” to hear he has been acquitted.
While the Kuwaiti constitution “guarantees freedom of the press, printing, and publishing” with conditional restrictions, it is ranked 128th on the World Press Freedom Index, which compares the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.