Security services summon Sudanese journalist, freed hours later

The Sudanese security services summoned the journalist and activist Faisal Mohamed Saleh on Saturday to the office of the Security Media Department in Khartoum. Saleh told Radio Dabanga an element of the security services called him on his mobile phone and demanded him to come by the office in Khartoum 2. The journalist “simply waited around the office” for four hours during which he was not subjected to any type of questioning. Afterwards an employee asked him to fill out a seven-page form with personal information about him, his family members, friends and his ‘non-journalist contacts’. Once Saleh was done filling out the form, he was asked to leave the Security Media Department office. Faisal Mohamed Saleh received repeated calls by the security services in May 2012. This was following an invitation made by the TV channel Al-Jazeera for him to comment on a national speech delivered by President Omar al-Bashir when he called the SPLM “insects”. During his appearance, Saleh called the president’s comments “irresponsible and unacceptable”. The journalist was then charged by the security services and acquitted by a Khartoum court.Photo: Faisal Mohamed Saleh (AsSudan.net)