Could sharing publicly available footage of a military incident land you in prison in Kuwait? Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin’s early March 2026 arrest for resharing already-circulated videos of alleged Kuwaiti friendly fire amid Iran tension brings this question into sharp focus. Understood to be facing charges of spreading false information and endangering national security, he exemplifies a pattern of broad security laws targeting journalism. Groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and CNN, as well as international media, note that the footage was in the public domain, warning that authorities may risk conflating reporting with crime when it’s most crucial.

Shihab-Eldin is certainly not just a bystander. An American-born Kuwaiti journalist of Palestinian descent, he has worked for several prominent media organisations, including the New York Times, HuffPost, Al Jazeera, and the BBC, having cultivated a substantial digital following. Before his detention, Shihab-Eldin consistently used his platform to document the genocide in Gaza, including civilian casualties, starvation, and infrastructure destruction, as well as the raids on Al-Shifa Hospital, the strikes on Rafah and the asymmetric conflict.

Before his detention, Shihab-Eldin consistently used his platform to document the genocide in Gaza, including civilian casualties, starvation, and infrastructure destruction, as well as the raids on Al-Shifa Hospital, the strikes on Rafah and the asymmetric conflict.

Before his detention, Shihab-Eldin consistently used his platform to document the genocide in Gaza, including civilian casualties, starvation, and infrastructure destruction, as well as the raids on Al-Shifa Hospital, the strikes on Rafah and the asymmetric conflict.

With that in mind, the legal framework invoked in Kuwait becomes central to understanding the case. The decree that came into effect in March (2026) introduced penalties of up to ten years’........

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