Kuwait arrests US-born journalist in social media crackdown over war damage

Kuwait has arrested journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin in an aggressive social media crackdown. The Gulf state accuses Shihab-Eldin of publicising damage to infrastructure caused by Iranian retaliation to the unprovoked and illegal US-Israeli war.

🚨 Prominent Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Has Been in Jail for Six Weeks in Kuwait, Faces Trial in Special Tribunalhttps://t.co/6u8QeUpMUU

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) April 14, 2026

Kuwait crackdown

Drop Site News reported on 14 April:

Prominent journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested six weeks ago in Kuwait where he remains in detention and faces prosecution in a special tribunal over social media posts related to the Iran war. His detention comes as part of a wider crackdown on online speech in Kuwait and other Gulf countries during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that has engulfed the region.

CPJ calls on Kuwaiti authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, detained under new security and fake news laws.

Read more: https://t.co/H1qBu1OCFg#FreeAhmed #FreeAhmedEldin pic.twitter.com/aCUtmw6i9l

— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) April 14, 2026

The US-based outlet described Shihab-Eldin as “an American born Kuwaiti citizen” and:

award-winning journalist with more than two million followers across social media platforms.

Human rights organisations have condemned his detention. Sara Qudah, the Middle East and North Africa Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told Drop Site:

We are seeing escalating censorship of journalists and news outlets across the world in relation to the Iran war, including in the Gulf. National security is being used as a pretext to crack down on freedom of speech and Shihab-Eldin’s detention is emblematic of that. He must be freed immediately.

He was reportedly arrested on 3 March 2026, five days after the illegal assault on Iran began, and has had little contact with his legal counsel. Drop Site said:

There has been little transparency around his case, but the charges he faces are reported to be related to his social media posts, including a video showing a U.S. fighter jet crash near a U.S. air base in Kuwait, according to CPJ, which stressed that the videos and images he shared had been publicly available.

Adding:

The charges Shihab-Eldin faces may include allegations of spreading false information, harming national security, and misuse of a mobile phone.

Press freedoms

Kuwait, like UAE, has enacted a ban on reporting details of war damage. Only a month ago Shihab-Eldin spoke to Pullitzer-winning reporter Chris Hedges about how the legacy media had capitulated to the US and Israel’s genocidal impulses:

Drop Site said dozens of other people had been detained in similar circumstances. Kuwait has created new courts designed to deliver rapid judgements:

The courts were established to “resolve cases with high speed,” and the Kuwaiti government claimed they were “necessary due to the extreme danger terrorism poses to national stability and peace,” according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Wasat.

Authoritarians are carrying out a global assault on press freedom and truth telling. This has only been exacerbated by the genocide in Gaza and the US-Israeli attack on Iran. The Canary stands in solidarity with Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. And with our fellow journalists all over the world who are under attack. He should be freed immediately to continue his vital work.

Featured image via the Canary