Sudan

Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens

Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in the world for the profession. Others fled the threat of prison, especially in Iran, where the government deepened its crackdown ahead of elections. A CPJ special report by Nicole Schilit

New York, June 18, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the official harassment of Sudanese reporter Khalid Ahmed who was detained for three days this month and then interrogated three times since on broad allegations that he "harmed the morale of the armed forces" and denigrated its leaders.

New York, June 6, 2013--Sudanese authorities have banned the publication of at least three newspapers in the past two weeks despite statements by government officials to curtail censorship practices, according to news reports.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, is disturbed by the ongoing campaign by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) to intimidate journalists and interfere in their work, including by censoring newspapers. In particular we are concerned for the safety of the Khartoum bureau chief for international news network Al-Jazeera, Almassllmani Al-Kabashi, who has been repeatedly harassed by NISS.

In a return to old tactics, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in Sudan have resumed strict pre-publication censorship.

Journalists struggled to carry out their work freely as the space for independent reporting diminished in Sudan. Khartoum intensified its crackdown against journalists with a record number of detentions, newspaper confiscations, and closures, leading to significant financial losses for many newspapers and layoffs among journalists. In June, protests against austerity measures and rising fuel prices quickly evolved into anti-government demonstrations. As journalists attempted to cover these historic events, the National Intelligence Security Services warned journalists not to cover the protests, detained several foreign and local journalists who did, confiscated newspapers that dared to mention the demonstrations, and blocked three critical websites. By August, the government had quashed the protest movement. The authorities continued to suppress coverage of Sudan's conflict with South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, and kept a particularly tight lid on information involving the fighting in oil-rich South Kordofan.

New York, December 26, 2012--Sudanese authorities have detained without charge since Monday two Eritrean journalists, Abdalal Mahmoud Hiabu and Haroun Adam, from the Sudan-based Eritrean Centre for Media Services, according to local journalists, family, and news reports.

New York, November 5, 2012--A critical Sudanese freelance journalist was found on the side of a road in Khartoum on Friday after being reported missing on October 29, according to news reports. Somaya Ibrahim Ismail Hundosa had been tortured and her head shaved while she was held captive, the reports said.

Hundosa was found in a remote area of the capital, news reports said. Her family said that she had been subjected to "physical torture and beating with whips" and that she had been told her head was shaved because "it looked like the hair of Arabs while she belonged to the slaves in Darfur," according to the pro-democracy group Grifina (We Are Fed Up). The journalist is now recovering at home with her family.

New York, July 20, 2012--Authorities in Sudan must stop their crackdown on press coverage of the ongoing protests in Khartoum and allow the media to report independently without fear of retaliation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At least two journalists have been detained without charge; a third journalist's whereabouts are unknown, although local news accounts say the reporter may be in state custody. In addition, authorities have confiscated particular editions of at least three newspapers and also banned a daily from publishing, news reports said.

New York, July 9, 2012--Sudanese authorities must immediately release two journalists who were taken into custody nearly a week ago after covering anti-government protests in Khartoum, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The whereabouts or any charges against the journalists have not been disclosed.