US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin acquitted of all charges
Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kuwaiti court’s acquittal of US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on all charges following nearly two months of detention. “We are relieved that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has been found innocent after 52 days in detention,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Ahmed’s freedom and safety remain…
CPJ shares statement from international legal counsel acting in case of US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
On April 22, the international legal counsel acting for the sisters of U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin issued an urgent statement, saying they were “extremely concerned for Ahmed’s safety and wellbeing” in Kuwaiti detention, and demanding his release. The international legal team has filed urgent appeals with United Nations experts, and they are engaging with U.S.,…
CPJ calls on Kuwait to release US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kuwaiti authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning journalist who posts prolifically on social media, has not posted online or been seen in public in Kuwait – where he was visiting family – since March 2. It is…
Global press freedom violations during the Iran war
The Committee to Protect Journalists is monitoring press freedom violations related to the ongoing military escalation between Israel, the U.S and Iran and its spillover across the Middle East, including its regional and global impact on journalists and media workers. Since the Iran war broke out on February 28, when the U.S and Israel launched…
CPJ submit a joint report to UN ahead of Kuwait’s human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists, in partnership with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)—an independent, nonprofit civil society organization—has submitted a report on the state of human rights in Kuwait to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of Kuwait’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on May 7, 2025. The UPR, a United Nations…
Kuwait withdraws licenses of 90 news websites, refers 73 outlets for prosecution
Washington, D.C., June 24, 2022 – Kuwaiti authorities should restore the licenses recently withdrawn from dozens of news websites, and should ensure that media outlets are not prosecuted for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Wednesday, June 22, the Kuwaiti Information Ministry announced that over the last two weeks it had…
Ten years after the Arab Spring, the region’s media faces grave threats. Here are the top press freedom trends
In early February 2011, Alaa Abdelfattah was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, documenting and participating in the nascent pro-democracy uprising that would topple the government and transform the country and the region. Today, he is in prison on anti-state and false news charges, which his family believes are partly retaliatory for his work. Abdelfattah is one of…
Kuwaiti authorities detain blogger Mohamed al-Ajmi for ‘insulting religion’ in tweets
On August 23, 2020, the Kuwaiti public prosecutor’s office ordered the detention of Mohamed al-Ajmi, a blogger and member of the Kuwaiti freedom of expression group the National Committee for Monitoring Violations, and held him until August 25, according to news reports, social media posts by the journalist, and a report by the Arabic Network…
Kuwaiti authorities sentence local journalist in absentia to five years hard labor
New York, January 12, 2018–Kuwaiti authorities should allow independent journalist Abdullah al-Saleh to return to Kuwait without fear of imprisonment or reprisal for his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Kuwaiti national security court on December 25, 2017, found al-Saleh, a YouTube reporter and former columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareeda, guilty…
China, Egypt imprison record numbers of journalists
Egypt is second only to China as the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2015. Worldwide, the number of journalists behind bars for their work declined moderately during the year, but a handful of countries continue to use systematic imprisonment to silence criticism. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser