ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Prominent US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was released overnight after being detained in Kuwait for more than 50 days on account of his publishing of footage of US fighter jet downed by Kuwaiti friendly fire during the war with Iran.

The award-winning journalist was arrested on March 3 while visiting family in Kuwait on the basis of what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) labeled “vague and overly broad accusations.”

Caoilfhionn Gallagher, the lawyer representing Shihab-Eldin’s sisters, announced on Thursday that the journalist had been found innocent and acquitted of all charges. A US State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told AFP on Friday that Shihab-Eldin "has safely departed Kuwait."

According to the CPJ, one of the final posts Shihab-Eldin, who is of Palestinian descent, shared on social media prior to his detention featured a geolocated video — later verified by CNN — of a US fighter jet crashing near an American air base in Kuwait, recorded during the US-Israeli war on Iran. The video cost him accusations of “spreading false information and harming national security,” charges that could have carried up to 10 years in prison.

“He was not filming any military activity, this is important,” said CPJ MENA Regional Director Sara Qudah, adding that “there is no clear evidence, no transparency in this case, and no justification for his detention. Ahmed is a journalist, not a threat.”

Kuwaiti authorities moved to strictly control wartime information shortly after the conflict began. On March 2, the Ministry of Interior issued a warning against filming or sharing details regarding Iranian attacks, declaring that several individuals had already been detained for spreading "false news."

By March 15, Kuwait enacted Law No. 13 of 2026, which allows for prison sentences of up to 10 years for anyone who “disseminates news, publishes statements, or spreads false rumors related to military entities” with the intent of undermining public confidence in them.

CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg warned that censorship of journalists and news outlets spiked across the Gulf during the US-Israeli war on Iran. She argued that national security has been frequently used as a cover to stifle free speech, pointing to Shihab-Eldin’s detention as a clear example of that crackdown.

The  41-year-old reporter — who has contributed to The New York Times, PBS, and Al Jazeera English, among others — has been a renowned advocate for Palestinian people rights, particularly during the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Defined as “stubbornly unique, direct, and engaged” by his colleagues, he credited the somewhat polemical British TV pundit Piers Morgan and “others like him” for teaching him how to be more patient.