Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Jailed In Kuwait Over Social Media Posts On Iran War: Reports
Award-winning Kuwaiti American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, whose past work includes reporting for HuffPost, has reportedly been imprisoned in Kuwait for social media posts about the Iran war.
The independent news outlet reported that the 41-year-old was arrested in Kuwait on March 3 and faces trial in a special court. Drop Site It was reported on Tuesday.
The charges include spreading false information, harming national security and misusing a mobile phone. Guard.
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It is unclear which social media post led to his arrest, but on March 2, he shared CNN footage showing a US Air Force fighter jet crashing west of Kuwait City. Bottom stack page.
Sihab-Eldin wrote He said that the pilot and weapons officer on the plane successfully jumped out and survived, and local residents rushed to the aid of one of the crew. He has not posted on his page since then.
Committee to Protect Journalists was called His unconditional release on Tuesday came as he was detained while visiting family, at a time when authorities in Gulf countries, including Kuwait, were imposing strict media censorship amid ongoing war.
Kuwait Ministry of Internal Affairs on March 2 warned against He filmed or released videos or information about Iranian attacks and prosecuted people accused of violating the media law, according to the Kuwait Times.
“Journalism is not a crime, and Shihab-Eldin’s case reflects a broader pattern in which national security laws are used to obstruct investigations and control the narrative,” CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said in a statement.
Representatives of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.
Shihab-Eldin’s arrest follows another reporter He announced last month that he was detained in Kuwait on suspicion of espionage after photographing US warships off the Gulf Coast.
Yitzchak Horowitz, a journalist for the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) weekly newspaper BeKehila, reported that he was interrogated for several hours before being released.
