Sudan paper’s print run seized

Agents of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) on Monday confiscated the print run of El Sayha newspaper from the presses, without providing any reasons for the seizure.

However, journalists are sure that the confiscation was triggered by the publication in Sunday’s edition of the last episode in a series of 21 articles entitled Notes on politics and good governance by Ghazi Salahedin Atabani, president of the Reform Now Movement.

The offending article focused on how the lack of democracy, transparency, and good governance in Sudan has impacted negatively on the failure to achieve development and freedom in the country.

Atabani said that the current Sudanese leadership “has reached power by mistake, and abused it, causing the Sudanese people to miss opportunities”.

Restrictions

During the past years, the NISS upgraded its already severe restrictions on press freedoms by restoring 'pre-publication censorship' and issuing a number of 'red lines' on matters that are not supposed to be covered by the media.

The purpose of confiscating print-runs is to exhaust the newspapers financially, the editor-in-chief of El Jareeda newspaper earlier explained to Radio Dabanga. “It is in fact a direct and methodical liquidation, meant to kill the independent press,” he said.

Sudan rates 176, together with Gambia and Venezuela, of the 199 countries listed in the Freedom of the Press 2015 report of the USA-based Freedom House.