Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist, has been released from custody in Kuwait and has departed the country, a U.S. State Department official confirmed on Friday. The official added that while Shihab-Eldin was detained, State Department personnel maintained contact with him and provided consular assistance, but declined to provide further comment citing privacy and other considerations.
Shihab-Eldin, 41, had been detained in early March during a broader regional crackdown on individuals who filmed or shared footage from the conflict that erupted when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran at the end of February. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said last week that Shihab-Eldin had not been seen in public since March 2 and that Kuwaiti authorities detained him during a visit to family on March 3.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, prosecutors in Kuwait charged Shihab-Eldin with spreading false information, harming national security and misusing his mobile phone. Those charges followed social media posts he made prior to his detention, including videos and images related to the war and footage that the media watchdog said showed a U.S. fighter jet crash in Kuwait.
After nearly two months in detention, a Kuwaiti court acquitted Shihab-Eldin on all charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Thursday, citing a statement from lawyers representing Shihab-Eldin's sisters. The media group welcomed the acquittal and, together with other human rights organizations, had earlier called on Kuwaiti authorities to release him and drop the charges.
The detention and subsequent legal proceedings took place against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions. The U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on February 28. Iran responded with strikes targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. bases. Those rounds of attacks and counterattacks have resulted in large-scale human consequences, with thousands killed and millions displaced, according to reporting on the conflict. A fragile ceasefire has been in place for just over two weeks.
Kuwait's government moved to curb dissemination of battlefield footage during the period of hostilities. On March 15, the country enacted a law that includes a provision imposing potential prison terms of up to 10 years for spreading false rumors related to military entities with the intent of undermining public confidence in them. Earlier, on February 28, Kuwait's Interior Ministry issued guidance urging the public not to film missile interceptions, share such footage on social media, or record security personnel at work, and to rely on official sources.
Shihab-Eldin has described himself as an independent journalist with prior work for a range of international media organizations, including the New York Times, HBO, Vice, PBS, BBC and Al Jazeera.
The State Department official who confirmed Shihab-Eldin's departure said: "We can confirm that American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has safely departed Kuwait. While in detention, the State Department was in contact with Mr. Shihab-Eldin and provided consular assistance." The official added they had no further comment.
Kuwait's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Context and follow-up
The sequence of detention, prosecution, and acquittal occurred amid tighter controls across Gulf states on the sharing of battlefield footage and commentary following the strikes between the U.S.-Israeli coalition and Iran. Human rights groups and press freedom organizations had publicly urged Kuwaiti authorities to release Shihab-Eldin and to drop the charges that were filed against him during his detention.
At present, the available information indicates that Shihab-Eldin has left Kuwait following the court ruling and that U.S. consular staff provided assistance during his detention. Beyond the details already disclosed by the State Department and the Committee to Protect Journalists, no additional official statements have been provided.