African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(October 2009) On 27 September 2009, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced that the
government would cease the onerous pre-publication censorship regulations which
had been placed on journalists in Sudan. The president’s statement, however, was
immediately followed by indications that the move was not intended to create an
open environment for journalists. The statement was made in the context of a
ceremony adopting a journalistic code of honour, which in itself ask journalists to
limit the topics they discuss. In addition, the announcement was immediately
followed by a warning to journalists that they should “avoid what leads to exceeding
the red lines and avoid mixing what is patriotic and what is destructive to the nation,
sovereignty, security, values and its morality.”1
Pre-publication censorship is a particularly direct form of press control. It was used
in the early nineties and reappeared in 2008. As early as February 2008, the National
Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers began appearing nightly at
newspaper offices, requesting that editors-in-chief or their deputies reveal to them
all of the articles to be printed in their papers prior to publication. The NISS officers
read the articles, and in the case of articles, or portions thereof, that they deemed
inappropriate, ordered the editors to remove or replace them. In some cases, NISS
officers denied suggested replacement articles. In others, the volume of removed
material made publication impossible. If the entirety of the newspaper was not
reviewed by NISS officers, the NISS will not allow it to be sent to the printing press,
where other officers would await permission to allow the newspaper to print. It was
not possible for newspapers to be published in Sudan without NISS permission.2
The announcement was greeted with cautious optimism by newspaper editors and
journalists. Although the announcement was recognised as an “important step”, the
end of this particularly egregious tool of censorship, freedom of expression is far
from guaranteed. Indeed, the President’s dispensation offers little in the way of long
term security for newspaper publishers and other journalists. This is because, first,
although the security pre-censorship is not to continue, there are a variety of other
measures of control which could be applied in the context of the recently passed
press law. Second, the reprieve is a political dispensation granted by the end of
state, but there is little effective legal protection for journalists.
It is unclear in this context how this announcement will impact freedom of
expression and the availability of information as a whole. Newspaper editors voiced
concern that other tactics might be used to ensure that sensitive issues are not
addressed in the media. “Perhaps they will to go to court or punish the newspaper
by closing it. There is always a risk in this profession,” said Adil al-Baz, editor-in-chief
of political daily Al-Ahdath. Fayiz Silaik of the Ajras Alhurria newspaper, warned
“[t]here is no way they (the security services) are going to tolerate anything about
security, about the International Criminal Court”.3 Although the ICC has been the
most recent focus of censorship in Sudan, there have also been concentrated efforts
to eliminate discussion of corruption, Darfur and elections.
Their concern is well-founded if taken in the context of repressive legislation and the
patterns of violations that have occurred during the first nine months of this year.
This report seeks to clarify that context and to analyse of the potential future impact
of the recent presidential statement in that context.
Sudanese Press Law
One source of concern about the use of other methods of media control aside from
pre-publication censorship is the new Press and Publication Act of 2009. The bill had
been heavily criticized by Sudanese journalists and civil society, who protested
outside the parliament building. Representatives of the Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement (SPLM) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the National Assembly
walked out of the session in which deliberations of the draft law took place to voice
their opposition. The bill was also criticised by international organisations including
Article 19, Reporters without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists. In
particular, the following concerns were highlighted:
• the proposed licensing regime for print publications,
• registration requirements for journalists,
• imposition of restrictions on the eligibility of chief editors,
• political interference in the National Council for the Press and Publications
(the Press Council), the regulatory body of the print press,
• authorisation of the Press Council to impose criminal sanctions for violations
of the law, although an administrative and not a judicial body.
After an intense debate and some concessions, the law was passed. Some of the
most egregious elements, such as imprisonment as a sanction for violation of the
law, were excluded. A controversial provision of the draft law which would have
imposed large fines on newspapers and journalists up to 50,000 Sudanese pounds
(about 21,000 dollars) was also dropped. The law, however, has left the door open to
new and possibly harsher penalties, depending on the discretion of the judiciary.
Other oppressive measures, however, were passed into law.
The new law does not remove the power of intelligence services to censor. It also
gives the Press Council the power to ban newspapers for a period of three days
without judicial mandate. The Press Council is controlled by the state, and consists of
21 members, six of whom are appointed by the president himself.
The new law also entrusts government authorities with the power to impose
restrictions on the press on grounds of national security and public order. The law
incorporates vague language and fails to provide clear guidance on interpretation.
For example, the law calls on the press to “respect the public morality and the
religious values”, a provision which could potentially be broadly interpreted to forbid
a wide range of speech.
Many journalists and human rights activists criticised the law as in contradiction with
the 2005 Interim Constitution of Sudan which includes important safeguards for
freedom of expression. It also contradicts a number of international treaties and
conventions ratified by the Sudanese government, such as the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights, and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Within this context, Sudanese journalists’ networks have demanded that the law be
repealed. Journalists, activists in the field of human rights, political activists across
the spectrum, and representatives of Sudanese political parties held a number of
meetings as an initial step in opening a dialogue on the imperative of a free and
independent press in Sudan. Other meetings were held between the NISS director
and the editors-in-chief of some of the frequently targeted newspapers. These
meetings led to a publication of an agreement between the above-mentioned
parties stating that urgent measures were to be taken to stop newspaper
censorship. None of these steps have yet been implemented, according to a
statement attributed to the Sudanese Journalists’ Network.
Security censorship
One particular omission in the press law was the failure to address the role of the
National Security and Intelligence Services, who can censor papers ahead of
publication under Sudan’s National Security Act.
Indeed, this form of censorship was challenged in a recent constitutional court case
in Sudan. The challenge was unsuccessful and censorship by the NISS of this type was
ruled to be constitutional.
In this context, the presidential statement that censorship would be stopped
represents only a temporary political dispensation. The pre-publication censorship
which has been so problematic is still legal and there is no guarantee to publishers
that it will not be reinstituted.
Limitation of freedom of expression since January 2009
On 10 February 2009 Al-Midan newspaper was suspended due to pre-publication
security censorship measures. In a statement issued on 11 February, Al-Midan
commented that:
the security censor took out the editorial of Al-Midan which expresses our
weekly views on the most important issues concerning the nation and its
citizens. The security censor has repeatedly taken out editorials during the
last few months. He also took out four news stories. These stories were
political news stories which appeared in many other newspapers the next day.
On top of that, he took out the basic line from the first page … and the whole
of the political commentary on the Darfur conflict, its current effects and the
best possible options for solving it. All these were taken out from the first
page. This attack affected also another six pages ranging from the removal of
whole articles (four) or removing some important paragraphs of many of the
articles ready to be published, affecting their coherence.4
The total number of articles affected by pre-publication censorship from Al-Midan
was 16, resulting in Al-Midan’s inability to publish that issue of the newspaper. Al-
Midan’s editors complained by sending an open letter to the head of the NISS,
alleging that the measures undertaken by the NISS were illegal, and pointing out bias
in the targets of this censorship.
On 15 February 2009, Judge Modather Al-Rasheed of the Khartoum North Criminal
Court sentenced lawyer Kamal Omer Abd-Alsalam, a leader of the Popular
Conference Party and contributing writer to the Ray-Elshaab newspaper, to 6
months in prison for defamation under Article 159 of the Sudanese Criminal Code.
The case had been brought against him by the NISS. The charges were based on an
article written by Omer in Ray-Elshaab newspaper in 2007, which alleged that the
NISS excluded Darfurians from its ranks and cited many examples. The first
defendant in the case was the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, who was represented by
his deputy and later acquitted. Omer spent two months in Omdurman prison before
being released.5
Pre-publication censorship by the NISS against newspapers increased and became
more aggressive in nature following the attacks of the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM) on Omdurman City on 10 May 2008, as well as during the period
leading up to the issuance by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) of a warrant of
arrest for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Various state officials and agencies
began to threaten the media to disregard the issue of the ICC arrest warrant. Some
writers and journalists received threatening phone calls from members of the
security apparatus and were ordered to stop writing about the ICC. In one week,
more than 20 articles related to the ICC were taken out of Al-Midan and Ajras
Alhurria newspapers.6
On 12 February, the bank accounts of the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and
Environmental Development (KCHRED) were frozen. In the midst of this climate of
tension and threats, the General Director of the NISS, Salah “Gosh” Abdalla, gave a
strong warning on 26 February that “we will cut the hands, heads and body parts of
whoever gets involved in the implementing ICC plans because this is an issue beyond
any compromise”.7
On 28 February, the NISS arrested a British journalist of Tunisian origin, Zuheir
Lateef, who was employed by the Arabic Service of France-24 and Al-Hayat
newspaper, on the pretext that he had violated immigration laws by participating in
activities that were not part of the job that he had been authorised to do to enter
the country. On the same day, Sudanese authorities expelled Hiba Ali, a Canadian
journalist of Egyptian nationality, for reporting on the Darfur crisis and the arms
industry in Sudan.8
On 4 March, the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against President Omar al-Bashir on
charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since then, security agencies
have tightened their grip on pre-publication censorship of Khartoum newspapers,
particularly on the issue of the ICC. Security and police forces were ordered to fire or
denationalise anyone who spoke about the ICC or supported it in Sudan. The initial
reaction to the ICC decision was the expulsion of 13 international humanitarian
organisations working within Sudan, and three national organisations. Their
properties were all confiscated. This included the closure of the KCHRED, the Sudan
Organisation for Development (SUDO) and the Amal Centre for the Treatment and
Rehabilitation of Survivors of Torture on 4 March, only 15 minutes after the ICC’s
decision was issued. Newspapers were forbidden to report or publish any views
contradicting the official position of Sudan regarding the expulsion of the
international and national NGOs.
The closure of the three national human rights NGOs has undermined the progress
of freedom of expression and the press, and human rights more generally in Sudan.
KCHRED had been active in training journalists and equipping them with the necessary
skills to monitor human rights, freedom of expression, and the freedom of
the press. KCHRED was also host to the Journalists Network for Human Rights (JAHR),
which endeavoured to monitor and document violations of the freedom of
expression and human rights. In addition, KCHRED provided legal aid to journalists
targeted by the authorities.
The closure of national human rights NGOs by the Sudanese government constituted
an attack on the front lines of human rights defenders and an attempt to paralyse
the human rights movement within Sudan. At the peak of the NISS campaign, the
actions undertaken constituted physical and mental harassment, interrogation and
arrest. Systematic targeting of human rights activists has forced many to leave
Sudan.
On 12 March 2009, the State Security Prosecution in Khartoum charged Musa
Rahama, age 29, with threatening the public security and belittling the authority of
the state.9 Rahama was arrested the NISS filed a complaint against him stating that
his book, Darfur on the National Political Powers Agenda, contained false
information.
On 17 March 2009, the Al-Midan newspaper was not published due to prepublishing
censorship measures taken by NISS.
On 19 March, Alhaj Warrag of Ajras Alhurria and Adil Albaz of Al-Ahdath were
arrested pursuant to a case that had fined Warrag 20 million Sudanese pounds. The
Khartoum North Court had ruled that Warrag should pay the fine in its entirety by
the following morning 20 March, or else be arrested again and taken to prison.10
That same day, the NISS prevented Ajras Alhurria from being published, as it ran
coverage of Warrag’s trial and a report on a press conference held by the President’s
Advisor Mustafa Osman Ismael, in which he described the Sudanese people as
“beggars”. Five officers were sent to stop the publication of Ajras Alhurria, although
they had no judicial order.
On 20 March 2009, the NISS banned Ajras Alhurria from publishing for the second
day in a row. This was due to a story concerning the owner of a company who had
been cheated by a ruling party member. The story was as follows: “Abdul-Rahman
Mahjoub Company … said it was subjected to an act of cheating and deception from
an individual affiliated with the National Congress Party”.11
This was the third time that Al-Midan had been prevented from being published due
to pre-publication censorship and abusive acts of the NISS. According to the
newspaper’s statement, the security censor took out 17 articles from the issue,
which made it impossible for the newspaper to be published.12
In April 2009, the Khartoum North Court barred reporters from hearing the
testimony of defence witnesses in the case trying suspected assassins of the USAID
officer John Granville and his Sudanese driver. The witness in question, an army
captain, was summoned by the defence and had previously requested that the judge
bar reporters from the hearings because he had “secret and sensitive” information.
On 9-10 April, Ajras Alhurria was suspended by the security service for coverage of a
press conference held by Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of the Sudan Peoples’
Liberation Movement, and some editorials written by the editor in chief and other
journalists on the draft of press law.
On 25 April, NISS prevented Ajras Alhurria newspaper from being published.
According to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Dr. Murtadha al-Ghali, and other
journalists Ajras Alhurria had become a regular target for the NISS.13
On 26 April, the General Director of NISS, Salah Gosh, issued a directive to halt the
publication of Alwifag newspaper for a week, as well as ordering its editor-in-chief to
stop writing for a week. Though Alwifag newspaper is recognised by many as a
publication close to the government and to the ruling National Conference Party, it
was banned because the editor-in-chief published a critical editorial on Yassir Arman,
a leading figure of the SPLM on 25 April 2009.
On 5 May, JAHR released a statement condemning the abusive pre-publication
censorship measures undertaken by the NISS, which it argued amounted to
violations of the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression in Sudan, as
well as systematic targeting of opposition newspapers such as Ajras Alhurria, Al-
Midan, and Ray Alshaab. JAHR condemned the deliberate suppression and
suspension of newspapers. It called upon Sudan to respect the constitution and the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement, both of which guarantee freedom of expression
and of the press. Both instruments also restrict the role of the security apparatus to
collecting and analysing information, and giving advice to the authorities concerned.
The powers vested in NISS have disrupted the process of democratic change and
could contribute to the failure of the upcoming general election. The lack of freedom
of expression in Sudan indicates the lack of serious commitment from the
government to the implementation of the peace agreement and democratisation
more broadly. It also undermines the credibility of the coming election.14
On 6 May, Ajras Alhurria newspaper was not published. NISS officials had removed
more than 15 articles from the edition the previous evening. Murtadha el-Ghali, the
editor-in-chief, stated that this was the ninth time the newspaper has been
suspended since January 2009.
On 16 May, military police of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) detained
journalists Abdulgadir Mohammed and Adil Badr in a city market in Juba. The two
journalists were taken by security forces to the SPLA’s administrative headquarters.
They were searched, and their mobile phones were seized. They were interrogated
for an hour and a half and then released. They were told to come back the next day.
A media official in Juba, who asked to remain anonymous, indicated that the incident
was “unintentional”. The two journalists, however, have not received any official
apology from the government of South Sudan.
On 12 May 2009, Southern Sudan’s Office Secretary of the Infrastructure Ministry
blocked access of journalist Amal Habani to public documentation for a piece she
was writing.15
On 19 May, 70 journalists staged a sit-in protest inside of Parliament’s headquarters
in Omdurman against the then-pending Press and Publications Bill of 2009, which
was to be passed that day. 168 members of the National Assembly walked out of the
session in solidarity with the journalists, and held a press conference to demonstrate
their position against the bill. The bill was nonetheless passed on 8 June 2009.
On 26 May, Al-Alakhbar newspaper was not published. According to its editor-inchief,
Mohammed Lateef, the pre-publication censorship cut out a great number of
the articles to be published. This resulted in the subsequent suspension of the
newspaper.
Ajras Alhurria was suspended by the security service on 26 May for their coverage of
a suspected bomb attack at SPLM headquarters in Khartoum.
On 4 June, military security arrested journalist Adil Badr again, this time detaining
him for five days without interrogation or charges against him. He was released after
Southern Sudanese government officials intervened.16
On 10 June, Ajras Alhurria was suspended for the 10th time.
On 25 June, security authorities arrested journalist Aizak Wanni in Juba, South
Sudan, where he was covering legislative assembly activities. Wanni told the Sudan
Tribune that the authorities detained him for five days for articles he had authored
regarding the situation in South Sudan, and the collapse of the South’s Nile
Commercial Bank.17
On 27 June, Ajras Alhurria was not published for the 11th time. Pre-publication
censorship removed so many articles that publication of the newspaper impossible.
On 29 June, the Public Finance Prosecutor summoned Rashid Oshi, a correspondent
with Al-Sudani newspaper, to court. The summons was based on his possession of a
document concerning an investigation by state health ministers. After being
summoned by the authorities, Oshi declined to publish any information.18
Censorship of websites
Prior to the recent tightening of media controls, websites had been considered a
safe haven for those articles subjected to pre-publication censorship. Under the prepublication
censorship regime, however, editors or their deputies were forced to
sign an undertaking nightly to not publish any article removed by the NISS in any
other publication.19
The government’s National Corporation for Telecommunication (NCT) has blocked
access to many websites from inside Sudan. For example, it blocked access to the
YouTube website after videos were posted showing soldiers and officers of the NISS
torturing Darfurian children arrested after the JEM attack on Omdurman in May of
2008. After the decision of the ICC to issue a warrant of arrest against President
Omar al-Bashir, the NCT blocked access to the ICC’s website. It has also blocked the
secular website of the Arab League. Another site that has been blocked is Al-
Mustafa.com, an electronic library containing Islamic history books and the works
banned by Arab governments.
Recently, the NCT has begun to block public access to legal websites, particularly
those dedicated to exposing violations of human rights in Darfur. At times, it is
difficult to access the UN website where the report UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan,
Dr. Sima Samar, is posted. This has occurred at various times, although it is unclear
whether the NCT is responsible. Previously, the NCT had posted a message indicating
that web traffic had been diverted due to the content of the site, but more recently
such messages have disappeared.
Communication companies and the violation of privacy
Communication companies are exploited in order to conduct surveillance on certain
individual and issues sensitive to the NISS. NISS officers have directly intercepted
telephone calls. Companies often record mobile phone calls, unbeknownst to those
speaking and in violation of their right to privacy. Journalists are often targets of this
practice, in that their sources and details of their work may be revealed.
The confiscation of literary works
At the end of December 2008, the Sudanese government’s administration of literacy
and artistic works banned the novel Amadira, by Umaima Abdalla. The incident cast
a dark shadow on freedom of expression in literature and the arts. It has highlighted
the need to direct attention to the review of the law and structure of the Federal
Council for Literacy and Artistic Works.
The radio and television
When it comes to the radio and television in Sudan, it is difficult to speak about
freedom of expression. The state owns the national radio and television
corporations, and directs the staff to comply with the state policies. The national
radio and television corporation is financed by taxpayers and as such should advance
the public interest. But the reality is that radio and the television are promoting only
the ruling party’s programme. Even private radio stations are not able to be
inclusive. For example, the government refused to give permission to Maraya F.M.
Radio of the UN to transmit its programmes in the North, which left it limited only to
the South.
Conclusion
Although it is unclear what the impact of the President’s most recent statement will
be, it is likely that discussion, particularly of sensitive topics will continue to be
controlled. Some of the subjects which have been particular targets of censorship,
and which are likely to remain sensitive include Darfur, dams, violence and
corruption against students, forced migration, the Algazira privatisation scheme,
corruption, deterioration of services, the freedom of the press, police violence,
education and school curriculums (and access to education), displacement, refugees,
the ICC, conditions in prison, and misuses of NISS’ of power. Open discussion of
these topics is suppressed, yet they are arguably the most pressing issues facing
Sudanese society.
1 “UN hails lift of censorship on Sudanese press”, Sudan Tribune, 29 September 2009.
2 In this report on journalism, the writers have a rare chance to closely watch the effects of security
censorship and repressive practices against the press and journalists. We met and spoke in this report
to D. Murtadaha Al-Gali the editor in chief of Ajras Alhurria, Ustaz Tigani al-Tayeb, the editor in chief
Kamal Karrar, a journalist and Faisal al-Bagir the deputy editor in chief of Al-Midan and a number of
other journalists of Khartoum daily and weekly newspapers confirm these facts.
3 “Sudan lifts media censorship but editors cautious,” Reuters, 27 September 2009.
4 Statement of Al-Midan newspaper, 11 February 2009.
5 Phone call from a friend of Ustaz Kamal Omer.
6 Personal interviews with writers and journalists.
7 AlSahafa newspaper
8 Sudanese on line and Sudan Tribune websites.
9 Ray Alshaab newspaper
10 Phone call and personal interview.
11 Press conference held by Ajras Alhurria administration.
12 Press release.
13 Interview with M. Al-Gali and Amel Habani.
15 Phone call and interviews with Abdulgadir Mohammed, Adil Badr and Amel Habani
16 Phone call and interview with Adil Badr.
17 Ray Alam newspaper
18 Al Sudani newspaper.
19 Observations of the authors and discussions with journalists and administrators of various
newspapers.
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