On April 22, the international legal counsel acting for the sisters of U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin issued an urgent statement, saying they were “extremely concerned for Ahmed’s safety and wellbeing” in Kuwaiti detention, and demanding his release. 

The international legal team has filed urgent appeals with United Nations experts, and they are engaging with U.S., European, and other authorities.

“It has now been 51 days since our client, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, an American Kuwaiti journalist, was taken,” said Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international counsel. “Every day he’s gone is agonizing for his family. We are aware of multiple reports from the U.S. State Department and international bodies of mistreatment in Kuwaiti prisons.”

Last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on the detention of Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning journalist and producer, who has not posted online or been seen in public in Kuwait — where he was visiting family — since March 2. 

Read the full statement here.