Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who was detained in Kuwait under new security and misinformation laws, has been acquitted on all charges, his family announced on Thursday.
“We are relieved that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been found innocent after 52 days in detention,” Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement.
“Ahmed’s freedom and safety remain our topmost priority and we will continue to closely monitor his case,” Ginsberg added.
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Shihab-Eldin was arrested on March 3 in Kuwait, where he was visiting family, and faced charges related to “spreading false information, harming national security, and misusing his mobile phone” – which the CPJ, designed to promote press freedoms, called “vague and overly broad accusations that are routinely used to silence independent journalists.”
A spokesperson for Shihab-Eldin’s family confirmed Shihab-Eldin was acquitted but declined additional comment until further information is known. He is expected to be released immediately.
On March 2, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior posted a chilling message warning against photographs or information related to missiles or relevant locations. Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, told CPJ that dozens have been arrested since the war began in cases related to freedom of expression.
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Kuwait then issued a decree stipulating up to 10 years in jail for anyone who undermines “the prestige of the military or deliberately works toward eroding public trust in them,” according to the Kuwait Times.
Shihab-Eldin, who is known for work at The New York Times, HuffPost, BBC, Al Jazeera, Vice News and other outlets, posted video of a U.S. fighter jet crash near a U.S. base in Kuwait shortly before he was detained.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A State Department spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration “has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans” and they were aware of reports of Shihab-Eldin’s detention.
“Whenever an American is detained abroad, the Department works to provide consular assistance in accordance with our authorities under U.S. and international law,” the State Department spokesperson added.
The CPJ asked Americans to keep Shihab-Eldin’s situation visible by signing a petition and posting about his detention with the hashtags #freeahmed and #freeahmedeldin and #journalismisnotacrime.
