Kuwait releases journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin after acquittal

The 41-year-old, an American-born Kuwaiti national, was arrested on 2 March while visiting family in Kuwait. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that his arrest came after he made a series of social media posts related to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The posts included footage of a US fighter jet crashing into a US airbase in Kuwait. The CPJ emphasised that he had shared publicly available footage and images. “We are relieved that, after 52 days in detention, Ahmed has been found innocent on all charges. Our focus now is upon ensuring the liberty and safety of our client,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, international counsel to Shihab-Eldin’s sisters, said in a statement. The CPJ welcomed the news in a post on X. Full details are still being ascertained but his international legal team confirms that he has been found innocent of the charges and he is expected to be released imminently, it said. Shihab-Eldin has contributed to a number of prominent news outlets, including The New York Times, Al Jazeera English and PBS. His work has won multiple awards, including a British Journalism Award and an Amnesty International Human Rights Defender Award. UK deploys Rapid Sentry anti-drone air defence system to Kuwait Read More » The CPJ warned that his detention comes amid a broader crackdown on online speech in the region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Kuwaiti authorities – as in other Gulf countries – have imposed increasingly tight restrictions on online speech in the wake of escalating regional tensions, in order to limit reporting about attacks on its infrastructure. On 2 March, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior issued a statement urging people not to “photograph or publish any clips or information related to missiles or relevant locations”, and warning that several people had already been arrested for “spreading false news”. Weeks later, new legislation was introduced imposing a 10-year sentence for anyone who “disseminates news, publishes statements, or spreads false rumours related to military entities” with the intent of undermining confidence in them. According to the Gulf Centre of Human Rights (GCHR), dozens of people have been arbitrarily detained since the war began for “peacefully expressing their opinions on social media”. The rights group added that most detainees were held in secret state security prisons for days at a time and denied contact with families and legal counsel. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0