Cairo 28 March 2012

 ANHRI denounces the confiscation of the issue of Al Sahifa daily newspaper issued on 27 March 2012.

Sudanese security confiscated the newspaper that refused to comply with the request of the authorities to stop the writer Zuhair Al Serag from writing.

The daily independent political newspaper issued on Tuesday a statement indicating the reason for non-issuance for its readers, which is receiving a call from the intelligence service of Sudan announces the authorities’ desire of stopping Dr. Zuhair’s writings among which he wrote criticizing the government in Sudan. In the call the officer claimed Dr. Zuhair to be requested for investigations while he is outside the country and when the newspaper’s management asked for a written official document stating stopping the press from writing the request was refused which questions the legality of this demand. As indicated in the statement of Al Sahifa the authorities threatened to confiscate the newspaper if not subjecting to the request, and this is what actually happened. Authorities confiscated the issue yesterday just after coming out from the printing line, which made the newspaper decide to suspend the issuance of its issue on Wednesday as a protest to stop the attack against the writer and the confiscation of the issue of yesterday. Publication will resume on Thursday.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time when the Al Sahifa is exposed to such crisis with the security services that closed the newspaper last September and then reopened it again in January 2012, as it is not the first time also when the security and intelligence services chased opposition newspapers. Three other newspapers were forced to closure, besides a number of confiscations of newspapers such as Ray El Shaab, Al Tayyar, Al Sahifa and Alwan since the beginning of this year only, in addition to the confiscation of 19 different newspapers last year.

Security and intelligence services nowadays are used to chase certain writers to stop them from writing and then make the publication permission of any newspaper subject to the implementation of the decision to stop them which causes heavy financial losses for many newspaper. Not only that but the three journalists Zuhair Al Serag, Mujahid Abdullah and Essam Jaafar received threats by preventing them from writing in any Sudanese newspaper, after stopping them from writing to Alwan.

ANHRI said: “Sudanese authorities have crossed all red lines in violation of freedom of the press, to the extent that it is no longer enough to appeal or request the Sudanese regime that should respect the constitution and international treaties that guarantee of freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of the press, and to cease immediately all harassments of opposition newspapers and journalists. In addition to this, the Sudanese government should immediately start to modify the unjust newspapers publishing law which allows the security to intervene in the substance and content of newspapers that must enjoy complete full freedom of spreading news and revealing truths with no fear of a pen to stop rather than to break the pen.”

Related Information:
Sudan: ANHRI condemns the confiscation of Al Tayar daily independent newspaper

Sudan: Security services confiscated the fourth issue of Al Midan newspaper and prevented journalists from writing

Sudan: ANHRI condemns the confiscation of Al Sahifa newspaper

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