Sudanese Government Continues to Repress the Freedom of Expression

(29 September 2011)  On 27 September 2011, officials from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) raided the Aljareeda newspaper offices in Khartoum.  After ordering all employees to leave the premises, NISS officers posted guards at the main gates and locked the doors.  Chief Editor Mr. Saad Aldeen Ibrahim and the Chair of the newspaper’s Board, Mr. Awad Mohamed Awad, were ordered to report the next day at the NISS offices.

The following day, on 28 September, NISS officials interrogated Mr. Ibrahim and Mr. Awad about the previous day’s front page headline, The Sudanese Military Forces Refuse to Withdraw from Abyei. The security officials informed them that such articles have the potential to incite war.   The paper remains closed and has not received notice about the length of closure or when it will be allowed to re-open.

These actions indicate the ever-worsening environment for freedom of expression in Sudan. Since 9 July, the NISS has closed six newspapers (The Khartoum Monitor, Sudan Tribune, The Advocate, The Juba Post, The Democrat and Ajras Alhurria) and halted the distribution of three other papers (Alahdath, Al Midan, and Aljareeda), which is in direct contravention of Article 39 of the Sudanese Interim National Constitution (INC).  From 20 August through 4 September, the distribution of Aljareeda was halted by NISS four times, resulting in revenue losses of over $10,000.  At the time, NISS officials informed Aljareeda that they would continue to prevent the paper from distributing if it allowed journalists who had worked at Ajras Alhurria until its closure in July, to publish articles in Aljareeda.

The closure and suspension of newspapers and targeting of specific journalists undermines the freedom of expression in Sudan, guaranteed under Article 19 of the International Civil and Political Rights, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, instruments to which Sudan is a party, and Article 39 of the Sudanese Interim National Constitution. These actions are particularly troubling in the context of reduced international monitoring presence in Sudan and the revised Press and Publications Bill tabled in the National Assembly.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies calls on the government of Sudan to respect the freedom of expression through its regulatory body, the Press and Publications Council. The government should immediately end its policies of pre-publication censorship, harassment of journalists and newspapers, and use of intimidation tactics designed to prevent media officials from reporting on issues the government deems sensitive. Additionally the government should ensure that journalists, newspaper editors and other media professionals are given the opportunity to participate in debates around amendments to existing media legislation.