While in Gaza and Lebanon reporters pay with their lives for the duty of bearing witness, in Kuwait, the grip of censorship tightens around one of the most authoritative voices on the international stage. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin—an award-winning Kuwaiti-American journalist of Palestinian descent and former contributor to outlets such as The New York Times, PBS, and Al Jazeera—has been detained by Kuwaiti authorities since March 2, 2026. This disappearance prompted the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to intervene forcefully: “Journalism is not a crime,” stated regional director Sara Qudah, demanding his immediate and unconditional release. Without the ability to document, verify, and publish, truth becomes the first casualty of any war. Protecting journalists is not merely about safeguarding professionals; it is about defending every citizen’s right to know the reality of facts.
Shihab-Eldin, whose investigative work has earned numerous accolades—including a British Journalism Award and an Amnesty International Human Rights Defender Award—was visiting family in Kuwait when he was taken by authorities. He has since been held in arbitrary detention, with limited access to legal counsel. His crime? Exercising the right to report. Prior to his arrest, the journalist had commented on public domain images and videos concerning the conflict with Iran, including footage—verified by CNN—showing a U.S. fighter jet crashing near an airbase in Kuwait. These were images and clips already accessible to the general public.
According to human rights organizations, his detention is “emblematic” of a broader crackdown on online freedom of expression across the region amid the war in Iran. Kuwaiti authorities have formalized charges that the CPJ describes as “vague and instrumental,” such as spreading false information, harming national security, and “misuse of a mobile phone.” These allegations are part of an escalating climate of repression: on March 15, Kuwait approved Law No. 13 of 2026, which mandates up to 10 years in prison for anyone disseminating news deemed harmful to military authorities.
If in Kuwait the voice of journalists is muffled behind bars, in Gaza and Lebanon it is extinguished by the violence of weapons. In a single day, Israeli forces killed three media professionals: Mohammed Samir Washah, correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher; Ghada Dayekh, anchor for Sawt Al-Farah; and Suzan Khalil, journalist and presenter for Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio.
“Journalists are being killed at a rate and on a scale that should shock the world’s conscience,” warns Sara Qudah. “These attacks are not isolated incidents, but part of a deliberate assault on press freedom to prevent the world from seeing the reality of the conflict.”
Their names are but the latest drops in an ocean of blood. According to CPJ data, at least 260 journalists have been killed between Gaza and Lebanon since the start of the conflict in 2023—a slaughter unprecedented in modern history. This has turned the Gaza Strip into the world’s most dangerous place for media workers; it is estimated that one in ten journalists has been killed since the onset of hostilities. Yet, the war on information is also fought in prison cells. While Kuwait imprisons Shihab-Eldin, CPJ data reveals that Israel now ranks among the top three jailers of journalists worldwide, with over 70 Palestinian media workers behind bars since the beginning of the occupation. Shihab-Eldin’s detention and the sacrifice of reporters in Gaza are two sides of the same strategy: to silence those who dare to tell the truth. While Kuwait utilizes national security laws to stifle every independent critical voice, amid the rubble of Gaza and Lebanon, chroniclers cease to be witnesses and instead become prey.
In both cases, the objective is identical: to create an information desert where impunity reigns supreme. The international community and human rights organizations demand that Kuwait immediately release Ahmed Shihab-Eldin and repeal the laws that muzzle freedom of expression and criminalize dissent on social media. To Israel, they call once more for strict adherence to international law protecting journalists and a definitive end to targeted attacks against the press.
