Sudanese media faces heavy government intervention: this year has already seen the arrest of more than 30 journalists and a popular newspaper prevented from printing five times, reports Abdelgadir Mohamed Abdelgadir
At least three protestors were shot dead and many more wounded during protests in the port city of Banias on Sunday (10 April). Human rights groups named Nizar Higazy, Muhammad al-Daygeh and Ayman Soliman as those who were killed. Anti-government protests erupted in Syria three weeks ago with demonstrators demanding sweeping political reforms from President Bashar al-Assad and his government.
Two independent Sudanese newspapers, al-Maidan and Ajras al-Hurriya, are halting publication in protest at government censorship. Whilst Ajras has had its distribution blocked since Wednesday, al-Maidan has been barred from circulation three times already this month. The government has stepped up censorship in the wake of anti-government protests which started in January of this year.
The National Congress Party (NCP), which governs North Sudan, claims that its battalion of “cyber jihadists” are ready to “crush” all online dissidents. The warning came from the party’s vice-president in Khartoum State, Mandur Al-Mahdi, on Tuesday (March 22). He warned youth groups using social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook that they would be targeted by the NCP’s online defence operations.