On March 30, 2026, Sudanese authorities arrested journalist Hajar Sulaiman, a reporter at local newspaper Sudania, fromher home in the East Nile locality of Khartoum State, over her reporting on corruption in the city of Dongola, the capital of Sudan’s Northern State, and for refusing to reveal her sources. She was released on March 31.
The Sudanese authorities had previously detained Sulaiman on March 25, 2026, for one night over her reporting following a complaint by the Dongola prosecutor’s office.
Sulaiman’s arrests stem from an article she wrote in March 2026, on corruption and misconduct within Dongola’s prosecutor’s office, according to a local journalist who is following the case and spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, and news reports. The article, which has since been removed from the Sudania website, details how a livestock export agent who reported an camel theft was instead accused of collaborating with militias, while the suspects were released and the seized camels were controversially sold below market value before court proceedings concluded.
As of end of March 2026, authorities had not disclosed the specific charges against her, the local journalist told CPJ. She was being prosecuted under Article 107 of the criminal code, which relates to concealing a crime.
Sulaiman was previously arrested in October 2025 and released on bail later that day, following a complaint against her by the Central Bank of Sudan over her reporting for Sudania, in which she exposed alleged corruption within the institution, according to the local journalist. The article, which has also been removed from the newspaper’s website, examined the influence of family interests over the bank’s management, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in Sudan’s financial institutions.
CPJ emailed the Sudanese government spokesperson and the Sudanese Armed Forces in March 2026 but did not receive a response.