Sudan newspaper files constitutional complaint against NISS

Sudan’s El Tayyar newspaper is to file a constitutional complaint against Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) for disrupting the daily distribution of the newspaper for a week, which has harmed the distribution of the newspaper and the readers’ access to it.

On Monday afternoon El Tayyar Editor-In-Chief Osman Merghani told a press conference at the newspaper's headquarters in Khartoum that members of NISS daily come to the printing press and put a hold of copies of the newspaper only allowing their distribution until after 6 am.

He said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the measures are indirect confiscations with the aim of causing a huge material damage to the newspaper.

Merghani announced the launch of a new vision to deal with freedoms, based on consolidating of the components of Sudanese society in the issues of freedoms.

Merghani told Radio Dabanga that the gathering will be held in a joint meeting with leaders from different groups including lawyers, lawmakers, former judges, journalists, creative figures, figures of Sudanese society and civil society organisations.

Charter of defence of Sudanese freedoms

He explained that these leaders will sign a charter of defence of Sudanese freedoms which they will start drafting on Saturday to be signed as a manifesto so as to take up the issue of freedoms in general and the issue of El Tayyar in particular.

The security apparatus has directed the daily newspapers to stop the organisation of anti-Egyptian campaigns in a general circular to the editors of the newspapers directing them not to raise controversial topics with Cairo and to refrain from escalation of negative writings.

The security directives came to the press and other Sudanese means to stop the escalation against Egypt after a visit by the Egyptian intelligence chief, General Abbas Mustafa Kamil to Khartoum and his meeting with President Al Bashir and senior government officials, including the director of the security apparatus and the Minister of Defence.

TV crews barred

TV crews from several news channels were prevented from entering the headquarters of El Tayyar newspaper to cover the press conference by agents of the NISS.

Darfur Bar Association

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) plans to lodge complaints against the head of Sudan’s security apparatus because of the conditions he set for the release of political detainees. Relatives of people being held staged a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Justice in Khartoum on Sunday, demanding their immediate release.

In a statement on Sunday, the Darfur lawyers announced they will file a complaint to the Sudanese Political Parties Council against Salah Abdallah (aka Salah Gosh), head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). According to the DBA, the NISS is holding political activists as “hostages”.