The UK has expressed its deep concern on the continued confiscation of newspapers in Sudan by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). The UK Ambassador to Sudan, Irfan Sideeg tweeted in his account that the freedom of press is a right outlined in the Sudan Constitution and must be respected.

Sudanese journalists are objecting to the interference of the NISS that reportedly controls newspapers and penalizes them when it is claimed to cross ‘red line’ topics by confiscating newspapers and stopping them from reaching the general public.

The NISS has launched a crackdown on media which has culminated in the arrest of at least 8 journalists without charge or court hearing and has confiscated Almedan newspaper.

The Government has also confiscated, directly from the printers, for 3 consecutive days, aljareeda newspaper in July after trying to publish photographed articles on the long queues for bread and petrol stations.

Journalists say that these are NISS scare tactics against Sudanese media intending to limit access of the Sudanese public to information which will help them to make informed decisions on their livelihoods as per as statement issued by the African Editors Forum which condemned the NISS actions and stood in solidarity with Sudanese journalists.

There have been several recent peaceful protests organized by journalists against a new proposed law intending to further stifle freedom of the press in Sudan.

This proposed law stipulates that the Council of Journalists in Sudan has the right to confiscate any newspaper from print for unto 15 days without any court decision . According to, Journalists Without Borders, Sudan is witnessing a deterioration in its freedom of press ranking it as 180 in the global freedom of press indicators.

The Sudan 2005 constitution states in its article 39-1 :

“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.”

Source: Almehar