New York, January 19, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group, arrested journalist Ogail Ahmed Naime and calls for his immediate release.
On Thursday, January 18, RSF soldiers arrested Naime, a freelance journalist, from his home in Khartoum, according to news reports. As of Friday evening, the RSF did not disclose the reason for Naime’s arrest or his place of detention.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that the Rapid Support Forces arrested Sudanese journalist Ogail Ahmed Naime in Khartoum,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour, in Washington, D.C. “Naime must be immediately released, and all parties of the Sudan war must respect freedom of the press and cease arresting journalists.”
Since the ongoing fighting broke out between RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces in 2023, the paramilitary group has killed, shot, beaten, harassed, and arrested journalists covering the war.
CPJ’s emails to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF received no replies.