A flawed media law already hampers the work of journalists in Sudan. But now the government is considering introducing even more restrictions. Abdelgadir Mohamed Abdelgadir reports

The details of the proposed legislation have not been made available to the public; journalists and human rights experts have been excluded from the deliberations. The 2009 act already imposes serious limitations on press freedom because it enables strict state control over the press and journalists. Article 22 of the law restricts the types of companies that can issue newspapers. Any organisation that wishes to publish a newspapers must obtain permission from the state-run Council of the Press and Publications and reapply for approval from the Council every year.

On 8 July, the eve of South Sudan’s independence, the Council announced that it would be withdrawing the licences of six newspapers owned or part-owned by citizens of the new nation. The 2009 press law only allows Sudanese citizens to own newspapers. The Khartoum Monitor, Juba Post, Advocate, Democrat, Sudan Tribune, and Ajras Al-Hurriya were all closed. All six papers were critical of the government and many view the decision as an act of censorship.

International observers have condemned the practice of licensing print systems. In 2000, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) ruled that a licensing-to-print system is incompatible with the right to freedom of expression, protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The covenant is monitored by the OHCHR and has also been signed and ratified by Sudan. The current law is in direct violation of this, as it is an unjust restriction on freedom of the press and expression.

The law also restricts journalists, requiring that they be registered after an exam held by the Council of the Press and Publications, which is organised by the Union of Journalists. In order to work as a journalist, one must be registered.

The 2009 law also expanded the powers of the National Press and Publication Council, providing them with the power to close newspapers, stop publication, and provide licences to newspapers. While given the power to crush the press, the Council has not created mechanisms to protect journalists or provide them with any kind of public interest defence.

With a flawed law already in place, and the government’s recent crackdown on newspapers, it is frightening to think of what the new law will look like, but there is no doubt that it will further endanger press freedom.

Abdelgadir Mohamed Abdelgadir is a freelance journalist and  human rights activist

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The popular Arabic daily newspaper Ajras Al-hurriya and five English dailies — The Democrat, Juba Post, Khartoum Monitor, Advocate, and Sudan Tribune — were shut down on Friday 8 July, just a few hours before South Sudan’s independence.

Sudan’s National Press and Publication Council said the closures came because the owners and publishers of this papers belonged to newly-formed south Sudan. Now technically foreigners, they have no rights to media ownership in the north.

In fact most of the papers owners are northerners, perhaps in partnership with a few people from south Sudan. But all the banned papers criticized the government and reported on corruption and human rights violations.

Ajras Al-hurriya in particular reported on violations and crimes of war committed by Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and National Intelligences and Security Services (NISS) in South Kordufan and Nuba Mountains last month. The paper was pulled circulation five times in June, and nine times in total since the beginning of 2011.

This attack on the independent and critical media gives a clear indicator of where the north is headed, post-split.

With this new repression strategy, the government of Sudan is working to silence critical voices and establish a single pro-government line in the media.
At the same time as the newspapers were being closed, the NISS arrested an independent journalist Khalid Ibrahim Ewais and interrogated him for five hours.
Last week saw the imprisonment of Fatima Ghazali, and the fining of journalist Saad el-Din Ibrahim. And other nine journalists face criminal charges of “defamation” and publishing fake news”.

On 3 July Abuzer Ali Al-Amin, deputy editor of Sudanese opposition daily Rai Al-Shaab, was moved from Kober Central Prison into the custody of the State Security Prosecution after spending 18 months in jail. He faces fresh charges of “publishing fake news”, “attacking the state” and injuring a NISS agent. These charges could carry a possible life sentence or the death penalty.

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As journalists are jailed and fined for reporting on the rape of a human rights campaigner, Abdelgadir Mohammed Abdelgadir reports on press freedom in Sudan

Sudanese journalist, Fatmah Ghazali, has been sentenced to a month in jail after she refused to pay a fine for her reports on the alleged rape of female opposition activist, Safia Ishag. The Sudanese Authorities have now moved Ghazali to Omdurman women’s prison.

Saad el-Din Ibrahim, editor at the Sudanese daily Al Jarida, has also been charged and will face the same decision between a 5, 000 Sudanese or a month in prison. Last month nine other journalists, from a variety of newspapers, were also charged with defamation and “publishing fake news”. Their reports all dealt with the alleged rape of Ishag by three members of the National Intelligences and Security Services (NISS).

In a number of reports, journalists had called for the authorities to begin an investigation into the rape case and bring those accountable to justice. All of  the journalists essentially published their own opinions, but have been now been charged with “publishing fake news”.

By 26 June the independent newspaper Ajrass Al-hurriya had been barred from circulation five times in that month and nine times since the beginning of the year.

On 3 July Abuzer Ali Al-Amin, deputy editor of Sudanese opposition daily Rai Al-Shaab, was moved from Kober Central Prison into the custody of the State Security Prosecution after spending 18 months in jail. He faces fresh charges of “publishing fake news”, “attacking the state” and injuring a NISS agent. These charges could carry a possible life sentence or the death penalty.

This attack on free media and journalists seems to be part of a new phase of the media crackdown in north Sudan, and comes before south Sudan’s separation.

After the south gains independence, the situation in the North is likely to become even more difficult. The government insists that they will cancel the interim constitution of 2005 and return to Shari’a law and the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) has been directed to leave the north after 9 July, the date when south Sudan will become the newest country in Africa.

Abdelgadir Mohamed Abdelgadir is a freelance journalist and  human rights defender.

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