The silence in the Gulf: the Shihab-Eldin case and the eclipse of press freedom

Translated by Martina Ravasi

The border line between information and potential State crimes has never been so weak in the Middle East. The Ahmed Shihab-Eldin case, an American Kuwaiti journalist and documentary director, has become the symbol of an authoritarian political turn affecting the Persian Gulf through unprecedented censorship. Apart from working notably for the New York Times, BBC and Al Jazeera, since 2025 Shihab-Eldin has worked in Puglia (Italy) as a storytelling and communication professor at Aldo Moro University in Bari.

Everything started on March 3rd, 2026. Shihab-Eldin was in Kuwait visiting his family when he was arrested. The reason? He had shared some documents online that had already been confirmed by international media, such as a video of a F-15 US fighter crash, which was accidentally shot by the Kuwaiti anti-aircraft artillery, and a photo of the pilot landed in the al-Jahra region.

The accusations made against him were juridically and linguistically vague on purpose - “false information diffusion”, “damage to national security” and “improper use of mobile phones”. This is a typical trait of those regimes aiming to target the communication sector. The professor was under preventive detention for over a month, with limited access to his lawyers, while in the meantime his case was moved from ordinary tribunals to special courts for national security – non-transparent instances working with almost military rationales.

Shihab-Eldin detention isn’t an isolated case, but it's the symptom of a regional escalation following the breakout of the conflict in Iran on February 28th, 2026. Kuwait, whose society has always been considered as vibrant, has now been turned into a “police State”, as defined by the Gulf Center for Human Rights (Gchr).

Kuwaiti authorities have introduced draconian norms, including the Law n°47 against terrorism and new laws aiming to protect “military entities”. According to these norms, anyone who undermines the prestige of military forces can be sentenced to prison up to 10 years. Against this background, even simple posts on social media were responsible for the arrest of some historical activists, such as Suad Al-Munayes and Fareah Al-Saqqaf. Furthermore, the government used the revocation of citizenship as a political tool. Indeed, between 2024 and April 2026, Kuwait deprived more the 71,000 people from their citizenship, namely 4.6% of the entire population – a bit more than 1.5 million people.

Following 52 days of detention, on Thursday April 23rd, 2026, Shihab-Eldin was absolved. His international legal team, led by the Londonese lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher, confirmed that he was declared innocent. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to protect Journalists (CPJ), expressed relief at the news, although she stressed that journalists' security is the priority.

However, the absolution of a high-profile person, protected by his American passport, doesn’t solve the core issue. As several independent commentators reported, Shihab-Eldin is a mediatic exception. Lots of his colleagues having just an Arabic passport “disappear” in the silence of the intelligence and nobody knows about them.

The situation of press freedom in 2026 is bleak. CPJ reported 14 cases of journalists killed in the region since the beginning of the year between news blackouts and media restrictions. Moreover, censorship has spread like wildfire in the Gulf. In Bahrein, more than 160 people were arrested due to their opinions expressed online. In the UAE, whose target is “unreliable” information, digital surveillance is everywhere. Press freedom is under attack even in Jordan, as demonstrated by the condemn of the journalist Hiba Abu Taha. Indeed, she was arrested after publishing two articles criticizing the Jordan government actions during the war in Gaza.

Nowadays national security in the Gulf is no longer a shield for citizens, but it’s a barrier to protect governments from the truth. A double split is emerging. On one hand, we have the rhetoric of Arabic leaders, who describe themselves as human rights guardians – especially when it comes to the Palestinian issue, and on the other hand anybody criticizing military cooperation or political impasse is cruelly silenced.

The Ahmed Shihab-Eldin case must be a reminder for us of the fact that journalism is an essential sector and without it people would lose their capability to make informed and well-founded decisions, thus leaving space to the storytelling imposed by their political leaders. Therefore, the destiny of a professor from Bari University has become the litmus paper of a global fight – the right to inform, especially where censorship is extremely high.

Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ®2026