CPJ, partners call on Gulf states to end crackdown on information

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 26 other organizations in calling on Gulf states to end their attacks on the free flow of information. The Iran war has sparked a sweeping new crackdown across the Gulf, as governments move to control what their populations can see, say, and share about the attacks unfolding in their own cities.

The crackdown has directly targeted journalists and media workers. In Kuwait, US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was detained for 52 days, and later his citizenship — and that of his two sisters — was revoked. In Bahrain, photographer Sayed Baqer Al-Kamel was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Cases of brief detention have also been reported in the UAE and Qatar. The UAE’s public prosecutor has also blocked access to several X accounts, including that of Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya.

The joint statement calls on Gulf governments to release all individuals detained solely for filming, posting, or sharing footage of the attacks — including journalists — uphold the right to freedom of expression and press freedom, and repeal all laws that criminalize legitimate expression.

Read the full statement here.