On Wednesday 7 February, NISS agents detained a journalist of Akhbar Al Youm newspaper Mr. Al Haj Abdul Rahman Al Muz. Also, on Thursday 8 February the agents seized the newspapers of “Al Midan” and “Al Jareeda” from the printing press without giving reasons.

NISS has launched a crackdown on newspapers deemed critical of the economic situation since mid January and that coincided with the wide peaceful protests triggered by hard living conditions and rising prices of basic commodities in the capital Khartoum and other major cities.

According to Al Tareeq website, NISS agents confiscated Al Midan newspaper, the opposition Communist Party’s mouthpiece, for the tenths time since last January.

NISS imposes a policy of strict censorship with regard to media coverage and reporting on political and rights issues which journalists refer to as “redlines”, they include a wide range of issues and topics media are not allowed to cover.

Journalists who spoke to Al Tareeq website are of the view that newspapers are seized as punishment to inflict on them huge financial losses to force them to comply with security directives and observe the “redlines”.

Article 39 (1) of the Sudanese Constitution provides “every citizen shall have an unrestricted right to the freedom of expression, reception of information, publication, and access to the press without prejudice to order, safety or public morals as determined by law. The state shall guarantee the freedom of the press and other media as shall be regulated by law in a democratic society”.

Source: Altareeq.info