April 23 (UPI) — A Kuwaiti-American journalist was acquitted Thursday after he had been detained for 52 days in Kuwait for social media posts about the war in Iran, his family revealed.
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested March 3, an attorney for his two sisters, Caoilfhionn Gallagher said in a statement to The New York Times. Although Kuwait’s government hasn’t publicly acknowledged his arrest, Gallagher said his arrest came on the same day the Interior Ministry said it arrested multiple people for “spreading false news.”
She added that he’s “expected to be released imminently.”
“Our focus now is upon ensuring the liberty and safety of our client, and we will provide more details once they can be confirmed,” she said.
Shihab-Eldin has written for The New York Times, the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He was born in the United States to parents of Palestinian descent.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said that before Shihab-Eldin’s detainment, he had posted a geolocated video showing a U.S. fighter jet that had been mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti forces near an air base.
The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., said it welcomed the news of Shihab-Eldin’s acquittal.
“Although Shihab-Eldin’s acquittal is a great relief for journalists everywhere, his detention represents a clear deterioration of press freedom and the freedom of expression in Kuwait and across the Gulf during the ongoing Iran war,” the NPC said in a statement.
Kuwait is ranked 128th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index.
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