Sudan: Curbing press freedom is utterly unacceptable, Amnesty says

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International
AI Index: AFR 54/052/2003 2 July 2003

Amnesty International today condemned the confiscation of the 28 June
edition and parts of the 29 June edition of the Sudanese independent daily
Al-Sahafa by the country's security forces.

"The Sudanese government and the National Security Agency must put an end
to the confiscation or suspension of local newspapers. The intimidation and
harassment of journalists with the attempt of restricting the freedom of
the press must end," Amnesty International said.

On the night of 27 June, members of the security forces seized around
20,000 copies of Al-Sahafa. The move came in response to an opinion piece
published a few days earlier at the occasion of the anniversary of the 30
June 1989 coup d'Etat in which the current government seized power.

Journalist Salah El Din Awooda who wrote the opinion piece was summoned by
security forces and warned not to criticise the government. A couple of
days later, security forces ordered Al-Sahafa to remove a page containing
three articles from their Sunday edition. After the wrong page was removed,
security forces seized nearly 16,000 copies of parts of the paper. The
articles deemed critical of the government by security forces were written
by Al Haj Warraq, one of the managers of the paper, Adil El Baz, its Chief
Editor and one of the daughters of Ummah party leader Sadiq El Mahdi.

Newspapers' editors in Sudan frequently complain that members of the
security forces waits until printing is completed to seize copies in order
to impose an extra financial burden on the paper. The authorities also
seized copies of Al Sahafa on 6 May which published a statement by the
Foreign Affairs Minister on external interference in Darfur which he later
withdrew.

"The government's harassment of the Sudanese press undermines human rights.
The smothering of freedom of expression will not help to bring a
sustainable peace in Sudan," Amnesty International said.

Despite censorship being officially abolished in December 2001, the
Sudanese security forces have since confiscated or ordered the closure of
several publications while arresting many journalists.

On 3 May Yusuf al-Beshir Musa, aged 35, correspondent of Al-Sahafa in
Nyala, South Darfur, was arrested by security forces for writing an article
about the destruction of Sudan air force planes and helicopters in El
Fasher airport by the Sudan Liberation Army (an armed opposition group
created in Darfur in February 2003 by members of sedentary groups to
protest the lack of protection and the underdevelopment of the region).

Musa, who has an amputated leg, was held incommunicado for three days at
the security forces' offices in Nyala and was reportedly beaten with sticks
on his body and the sole of his foot. On 6 May he was allowed to see a
doctor, whose diagnosis described the marks of beatings on his buttocks and
chest. He was detained in Nyala General Prison charged with "spreading
false information against the state" and served with a six-month detention
order under Article 26 of the 1998 Emergency Act. On 24 May, he was
released. His family was not allowed to visit him during his detention. A
complaint about his reported torture was lodged at the office of the Sudan
Attorney-General.

"Torture and imprisonment of journalists, suspension and confiscation of
newspapers for fulfilling their duty to report important events, or to
freely express their opinions is utterly unacceptable," Amnesty
International said.

The organization also called for all restrictions and "red lines" limiting
freedom of expression and for the suspension of some newspapers to be
lifted immediately.

Background

Other recent attempts by the Sudanese authorities to clampdown on the press
include:

Faisal al-Bagir, correspondent of Reporters Without Borders in Sudan, was
arrested and interrogated for two hours by the security forces on 8 June.
He was asked about his journalistic and human rights activities and
political opinions upon his return from a workshop in Greece about the
future of the media in Iraq.

Nhial Bol, the managing editor of the Khartoum Monitor, was detained by the
police after a complaint by the Ministry of Awqaf (Endowments) on 6 May
against it for publishing three articles said to be insulting to Islam.
According to the Khartoum Monitor, the articles were about the destruction
of a church, an article by the Chairman of the Christian Democratic Party
entitled "Is Islam afraid of Christianity?" calling for coexistence, and an
article about merissa, a traditional beer, which stated that Islam allowed
such drinks. Nhial Bol was released the following day. He complained that
he had been forced to stand facing the wall for five hours.

On 8 May security forces stormed the Khartoum Monitor newspaper and shut it
down. Its assets were seized because of its failure to pay a fine of 15
million Sudanese pounds ($6,000) for an article alleging slavery was
practised in Sudan. Sudan's Criminal Court in Khartoum North, hearing the
complaint brought by the Ministry of Awqaf, found the Khartoum Monitor
guilty of "propagating slavery", "abusing Islam" by misinterpreting the
Qur'an, and "endangering Sudanese unity" on 10 May . The Court imposed a
two-month suspension and a fine of LS500,000 ($200) on the newspaper and a
fine of LS1 million ($400) or a four-month prison sentence on Nhial Bol.
Nhial Bol was taken to Dabak Prison in Khartoum North and given forced
labour but was released the following day when his personal fine was paid.
The Khartoum Monitor remains closed.

All documents on Sudan: http://amnesty-news.c.tclk.net/maabdTEaaYXxYbdTYAHb/

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