Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a dual American-Kuwaiti journalist who has contributed to the BBC, the New York Times, Al Jazeera and PBS, has been acquitted on all charges following 52 days in detention in Kuwait, his international legal team announced on Thursday. The verdict brings to a close a case that drew widespread concern from press freedom organisations and highlighted a broader crackdown on information-sharing across Gulf Arab states during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Shihab-Eldin had been visiting family in Kuwait when he was last seen in public on 2 March. That day, he published on his Substack account a geolocated video — independently verified by CNN — showing a US F-15 fighter jet crashing near Kuwait City, along with photographs of an American pilot who had ejected and landed in the al-Jahra area. The aircraft was one of three US fighter jets that were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defences that morning; the US military confirmed all six crew members ejected safely. He was arrested the following day.

Kuwaiti authorities were understood to have charged him with spreading false information, harming national security, and misusing his mobile phone — charges his legal team described as based on his re-posting of images that had already been verified and published by the international press. London-based barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, who led his international legal team, confirmed the acquittal in a statement: