Attacks on the Press in 2011: Sudan
Sudan continued to impose extensive censorship by confiscating newspapers and shutting news outlets, and it maintained a hostile atmosphere through the frequent use of harassment and detention. Numerous press freedom violations were reported in the run-up to the January referendum that led to independence for South Sudan. On the eve of South Sudan’s independence in…
Sudan authorities continue to confiscate newspapers
New York, September 15, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the growing censorship of newspapers in Sudan. In the past two weeks alone, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) halted the distribution of four different opposition newspapers without cause.
Sudanese government continues to target press freedom
New York, August 23, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the continued violations of press freedom in Sudan. In August, Sudanese security services confiscated two newspapers, and on Monday, local journalists reported that the Sudanese National Assembly was considering introducing more restrictive press and publication laws that would further suffocate freedom of expression.
Sudan: Radio journalist held in Juba without charge
New York, May 26, 2011–The government of Southern Sudan must immediately release radio reporter Mohamad Arkou, who has been in detention for 15 days with no official charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security agents arrested Arkou, a reporter with the U.S.-backed Sudan Radio Service and the Darfur News and Information Service, on…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Sudan
Top Developments • Censorship intensifies before election; beatings, imprisonments reported. • Authorities use surveillance, harassment, severe legal restrictions to control news. Key Statistic 3: Rai al-Shaab journalists imprisoned, one of whom reported being tortured in custody. Sudanese journalists faced a familiar, toxic combination of censorship, legalistic harassment, and intimidation as a potentially historic national election…
Sudanese security agents must free Al-Midan workers
New York, February 8, 2011–Sudanese security forces on Wednesday detained 12 employees of the pro-opposition weekly Al-Midan, according to local journalists and news reports. Two were released the same day, but 10 continue to be held incommunicado nearly a week later. The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the welfare of the newspaper employees…
CPJ finds obstruction during Sudanese referendum
New York, January 27, 2010–Sudanese authorities harassed, obstructed, and censored local and international news media covering this month’s referendum concerning independence for South Sudan, a CPJ analysis has found. CPJ condemns the harassment of the press in Sudan and calls for an end to the repressive tactics.
Sudan bans BBC Arabic, tightens grip on the press
New York, August 9, 2010—The Sudanese government has announced it is suspending the BBC’s license to broadcast in Arabic on local FM frequencies in four northern cities, including the capital, Khartoum. Security personnel also informed editors in recent days that journalists who had not completed an extensive government questionnaire would be detained, journalists told CPJ.
CPJ condemns censorship of Sudanese paper
New York, July 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by the Security and National Intelligence Service to bar publication of the daily Al-Intibaha. Authorities suspended the newspaper last week because of the newspaper’s supposed role “in strengthening separatist tendencies in the south and the north,” a security official told local reporters.
Attacks on the Press 2009: Sudan
Top Developments• Government continues to impose vast censorship.• New press law falls short of international standards. Key Statistic 9: Men executed in editor’s murder. Observers call it a miscarriage of justice. Sudanese journalists worked amid political uncertainty and severe restrictions. Pervasive official censorship restricted journalists from closely reporting on the tumultuous events of 2009: The International Criminal…