Kuwait Revokes Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin’s Citizenship After His Detention Release

Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, just days after he was released from detention and left the country, in a decision issued by Kuwait’s Supreme Committee for Nationality Affairs.

“Citizenship, a 'weapon' Gulf monarchies use in the war against Iran Kuwait-born US journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested and had his passport revoked for publishing the video of a US fighter jet crashing”

AsiaNews.it

The New Arab reports that the committee ordered the withdrawal of citizenship from 21 individuals under Article 11 of Kuwait’s nationality law, which prohibits dual nationality, and that Shihab-Eldin was among those named.

AsiaNews.it

CPJ says the revocation targeted Shihab-Eldin and his two sisters “just days after his release from two months of wrongful detention,” framing it as “a dangerous escalation in the use of state power to crush press freedom.”

In the statement issued on Wednesday by his legal team, Shihab-Eldin said, “I am free - but many remain behind bars in Kuwait and across the region for speaking the truth.”

Middle East Eye similarly quotes him saying, “Today, my sisters and I have become part of the more than 50,000 Kuwaitis who have had their citizenship revoked.”

AsiaNews.it adds that Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people accused of sympathies with Iran, and it describes citizenship as “the main weapon used in this internal war.”

The broader picture, as AsiaNews.it frames it, links the revocations to the consequences of “the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran,” including the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and domestic crackdowns.

Shihab-Eldin’s citizenship revocation followed weeks of detention tied to his posting of publicly available footage and images related to the Iran war, including a video of a U.S. fighter jet crashing on Kuwaiti territory.

AsiaNews.it says he was detained on 2 March while visiting his family in Kuwait, and it reports that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) linked the detention to his sharing of “publicly available footage and images related to the war in Iran” with posts including “a video of a US fighter jet crashing on Kuwaiti territory.”

Committee to Protect Journalists

The New Arab reports that he was arrested on 3 March while visiting Kuwait and held for more than seven weeks, and it adds that authorities accused him of spreading false information, harming national security and misusing a mobile phone.

Middle East Eye states he was arrested on 2 March while visiting family in Kuwait and that CPJ reported his arrest came after he shared publicly available footage and images related to the Iran war, including “footage of a US fighter jet crashing into a US air base in Kuwait.”

CPJ’s statement says he was “abducted and arrested” on March 3 and that he was initially detained incommunicado, with no contact with his family, in two separate interrogation facilities before being moved to Kuwait Central Prison.

CPJ also says a judge acquitted Shihab-Eldin of the first charge on April 23 but refrained from pronouncing punishment, with a pledge of good conduct for six months without bail on the second and third charges, and that lawyers are appealing that decision.

The New Arab reports that on 23 April a Kuwaiti court acquitted him of all charges, with rights groups welcoming the decision and calling for his immediate release.

The revocation decision was issued on Wednesday by Kuwait’s Supreme Committee for Nationality Affairs, and it was tied directly to Article 11 of Kuwait’s nationality law, which prohibits dual nationality.

“Kuwait revokes journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin's citizenship Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, the Kuwaiti-American journalist who recently spent weeks in jail over sharing images related to the US-Israeli war on Iran, has had his Kuwaiti citizenship revoked”

Middle East Eye

The New Arab says the decision was ordered under Article 11 and that it was published in a special supplement in the official gazette, with Shihab-Eldin identified as a 41-year-old U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist of Palestinian origin holding both U.S. and Kuwaiti citizenship.

It also states that the law stipulates that a Kuwaiti national loses their citizenship if they voluntarily acquire a foreign nationality, and it extends to spouses and minor children who acquire nationality through the father, while requiring naturalised citizens to renounce any other citizenship within three months or risk having their Kuwaiti nationality considered void.

Middle East Eye reports that the Supreme Committee for the Investigation of Kuwaiti Nationality announced on Wednesday that 21 people had their citizenships revoked on the basis that they held dual citizenship, and it says Shihab-Eldin’s name and those of his two sisters Lana and Luma appeared on the list of 21 names.

AsiaNews.it similarly says the journalist’s name, as well as those of his two sisters, Lana and Luma, were on the list of 21 names.

CPJ’s statement says the revocation was of “Ahmed Shihab-Eldin and his two sisters,” and it quotes Shihab-Eldin’s legal counsel statement about “the more than 50,000 Kuwaitis who have had their citizenship revoked.”

AsiaNews.it adds that the Supreme Committee for the Investigation of Kuwaiti Nationality announced the revocation of his passport along with that of 21 other people, all dual nationals, and that the committee said it simply enforced Article 11.

The revocation campaign is presented by the sources as linked to the regional conflict that began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and it continued almost daily until a ceasefire took effect on 8 April.

The New Arab says campaigners described the case as reflecting a wider crackdown on freedom of expression across the Gulf, where authorities have targeted hundreds of individuals for sharing images and videos related to Iranian attacks during the regional conflict.

AsiaNews.it

AsiaNews.it similarly argues that the consequences of the “war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran” extend beyond economics and trade, pointing to domestic structures and societies being upended, including migrant labour crisis risks and demographic shifts.

It says governments exploit tensions to expel segments of the population they deem unwelcome, and it describes citizenship as “the main weapon used in this internal war.”

In that framing, Kuwait and Bahrain are presented as using citizenship revocation to crack down on dissent, with AsiaNews.it saying activists see the conflict as giving authorities an “opportunity to crack down even harder”.

Middle East Eye reports that Kuwait has imposed tight restrictions on online content in the wake of regional conflict, particularly to limit reporting about attacks on their infrastructure, and it says the process accelerated since the war on Iran broke out.

It also adds that on Monday Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 69 people it accused of sympathising with Iran and “aiding foreign entities,” and it quotes Maryam al-Khawaja saying, “Unfortunately, since the beginning of the war on Iran, the GCC regimes have taken this as an opportunity to crack down even harder.”

The sources place Shihab-Eldin’s case within a wider pattern of citizenship stripping and press repression, with CPJ providing a cumulative figure and rights groups warning of future consequences for journalists and public figures.

“Citizenship, a 'weapon' Gulf monarchies use in the war against Iran Kuwait-born US journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested and had his passport revoked for publishing the video of a US fighter jet crashing”

AsiaNews.it

CPJ says that since October 2024, Kuwait has revoked citizenship in a growing number of cases, with the total reaching over 71,000 as of April 15, 2026, and it describes this as approximately 4.6% of Kuwait’s official population of more than 1.5 million.

Committee to Protect Journalists

CPJ also says it submitted a joint report to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of Kuwait’s Universal Periodic Review documenting an escalating crackdown on journalists and press freedom in the country, and it reports that CPJ emailed the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

In the legal and rights framing, CPJ says Shihab-Eldin’s lawyers are appealing a decision in which a judge acquitted him of the first charge on April 23 but refrained from pronouncing punishment, with a pledge of good conduct for six months without bail on the second and third charges.

The New Arab reports that Shihab-Eldin’s citizenship revocation came shortly after he departed Kuwait following weeks in detention, and it notes that the U.S. State Department confirmed last Friday that he had “safely left” the country and that consular assistance had been provided during his detention.

AsiaNews.it quotes Shihab-Eldin’s legal-team statement and says the committee announced the revocation of his passport along with that of 21 other people, all dual nationals, while also saying it enforced Article 11, which prohibits dual citizenship.

Middle East Eye adds that campaigners said the case reflected a wider crackdown on freedom of expression across the Gulf and that authorities have targeted hundreds of individuals for sharing images and videos related to Iranian attacks during the regional conflict.