Sudan press council suspends newspaper for one day

The Sudanese National Council for Press and Publications has decided to suspend El Jareeda newspaper for one day following a complaint by the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Ashraf Izzedin, said that the newspaper received a letter from the press council (NCPP) notifying the daily with the suspension decision within the coming two days, on Thursday.

“Accordingly, the newspaper decided not to run on Friday,” he said.

The complaint panel of the NCCP said that the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity lodged a complaint against the newspaper on 17 May in connection with a column titled 'Behind News', written on 2 May.

The NCPP said that the ministry has been affected negatively by some phrases in the column such as “How can the electricity supply be improved with the corruption of the ministry which smells out from China to Malaysia and from Turkey to the Gulf”.

The article is about the current situation of electricity, the failure of the Merowe Dam in northern Sudan to generate sufficient power, and a number of the administrative issues which failed to provide electricity supply. The NCCP studied the documents supporting the writer's claims in this regard and found that the content does not prove the corruption charges he rose in the column.

Press council

The Sudanese Journalists Network responded in a statement in June that the Sudanese press is experiencing the most challenging time in its history under the current regime, pointing to the censoring by the security service. The NCPP rarely interferes to stop the security punishments although it is the official body responsible for running the work of newspapers in the Sudan.

Sudan tops the world's list of violators of press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders. 

(Source: Sudan Tribune)