Kuwaiti American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin arrested in Kuwait after posting on social media
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The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling for the release of Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin after he was arrested in Kuwait over communications documents. during military escalation e The war in Iran.
His arrest in early March took place in between widespread violations of press freedom and social media posts about military operations documented in all Persian Gulf states and Israel.
Shihab-Eldin was visiting family in Kuwait, according to the report The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), when war broke out in Iran on February 28, drew attention to other countries in the region. He he has not posted on social media or appeared in public in Kuwait since March 2.
CPJ says Shihab-Eldin was arrested by local authorities and charged with spreading false information, undermining national security and misusing his cellphone, which it describes as “vague and overly broad allegations used to silence independent journalists.”
“We call on Kuwait to release Ahmed Shihab-Eldin and drop all charges against him,” CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Journalism is not a crime, and the Shihab-Eldin case shows the widespread use of national security laws to prevent censorship and control the narrative.”
Countries under attack in the Middle East are tightening laws around images shared by journalists and citizens. Nationally, CBC News reporter Adrienne Arsenault breaks down military control and how it’s changing some of what you see in the war.
CBC News reached out to the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, DC, but did not immediately receive a response.
It is unclear what posts led to his arrest, but CPJ says that before his arrest, Shihab-Eldin commented on publicly available videos and photos related to the war in Iran. His latest post includes a video posted on location, verified by CNN, showing the crash of a US military plane near a US airbase in Kuwait.
His Instagram, Facebook and X accounts all appear to be inactive since April 14, with websites noting that the account is “missing” or “unavailable.”
Ashish Prashar, a New York-based political strategist and fformer Middle East peace adviser, condemned the arrest of Shihab-Eldin.
“Arresting a journalist for no reason and calling his work a threat to national security is a big mistake. The government department needs to demand Ahmed’s release,” said Prashar in his post on X on Tuesday. “Anything less would be an endorsement of accreditation practices.”
A social media video circulating online and confirmed by Reuters, which checked the surrounding building in the video against a satellite image, showed a military plane crash in the Kuwaiti area of Al Jahra. Kuwaiti and U.S. military officials confirmed the crash of the U.S. military aircraft but gave few details, saying crew members survived.
Countries in the Middle East have strict military censorship laws, largely aimed at preventing the release of information that could help enemy fighters. Shortly after the war broke out, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior warned against recording or publishing videos or information related to the attack on Iran, noting that several people had been arrested for spreading fake news.
CBC News reported on their arrest in the region, including in Kuwait, after their arrest by posting social media videos mocking the government again by using drones recording air strikes.
Since Feb. 28, where the The US and Israel began attacking Iran, and Tehran retaliated with attacks across the region, CPJ said, documenting arrests of journalists, disruptions to reporting, airstrikes that damaged media infrastructure and widespread restrictions on broadcasting in the region and around the world.
According to this organization, 9 journalists have died and 11 have been arrested or questioned throughout the region since the start of the war. Meanwhile, nine media sources were injured in airstrikes and 16 other journalists were targeted, beaten, threatened or harassed.
CPJ has also documented restrictive measures in many Middle Eastern countries, including a nationwide internet blackout imposed in Iran on Feb. 28, shortly after it was terminated during a deadly crackdown on mass protests in January.
