Sudan further restricts press, El Jareeda banned for weeks

Yesterday, the security apparatus banned El Jareeda newspaper from printing for the 19th consecutive day. The newspaper's administration announced that it would not publish the electronic copy either, in protest against the press curbs of the security apparatus.

The newspaper attributed the ban on the publication for refusing interference of the security apparatus through prior censorship by changing articles in the newspaper. That would undermine the credibility of its employees, the newspaper said on its Facebook page.

National Intelligence and Security (NISS) agents barred El Jareeda newspaper from printing on the pretext that it provided news, articles and reports criticising the regime and supporting the popular movement, and reported on the demonstrations against President Al Bashir.

The security apparatus is carrying out a vicious campaign against the newspapers, confiscating them and preventing them from printing in order to inflict heavy financial losses on them, leading to their collapse.

El Watan, El Baath, El Midan, and El Jareeda newspapers face systematic harassment from the NISS for insisting on the publication of news of the demonstrations and the killing of peaceful demonstrators by the regime’s forces.

Also on Thursday, El Midan resumed its publication electronically, despite the arrest of the editor-in-chief and a number of the staff.

The newspaper published statements of the Communist Party of Sudan about the arrests of nearly all political leaders of the party, and published calls by the Sudanese Professionals Association and the parties signatory to the Declaration of Freedom and Change to go out in demonstrations.

In January Sudanese authorities also withdrew work permits and press cards from journalists of Sudanese and foreign media agenies, including at the offices of Al Jazeera and El Arabiya TV Satellite channels in Khartoum, as well as correspondents of the Turkish Anadolu news agency.