Sudanese journalists condemn attacks, ‘anonymous lists’

A group of paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raided the office of El Hirak El Siyasi newspaper in Khartoum on Thursday. A Sudanese photojournalist was shot in the back last week. On social media anonymous lists are circulating, that ‘reveal’ names of journalists allegedly working for the army or the RSF.

In a tweet on Friday, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) strongly condemned the raid on the newspaper’s office and the targeting of press institutions and media personnel.

Another incident concerns photojournalist Faiz Abubakr, winner of the ‘singles’ category for Africa at the 2022 World Press Photo Contest. He was shot in the back “by an RSF soldier” while filming in a street in Khartoum last weekend. 

The Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) reported on its Facebook page on May 9 that after Abubakr was shot, the RSF detained him on suspicion of being affiliated with the Military Intelligence. He was threatened, beaten with sticks, and tortured with a sharp instrument.

“SJN condemns this criminal act and urges the warring parties to stop any form of harassment against media personnel, and allow reporters to safely and freely carry out their duties, [..] in adherence to international humanitarian law,” the statement reads.

“The Network also calls on the United Nations and the international community to put pressure on the warring parties not to target journalists and guarantee their right to safety and freedom of expression.”

Lists

In a statement on Thursday, the SJS expressed its concerns about “new threats against men and women journalists in Sudan, following the outbreak of the armed conflict between the army and the RSF in mid-April”.

The Syndicate “also follows with great concern the emergence of anonymous lists containing names of journalists. They are classified according their affiliation with  one of the parties to the bloody conflict, in an approach that could expose the lives of those journalists to potential dangers”.

“Threatening messages and hate speech against journalists” must be monitored and condemned, the SJS stated.