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Sudan Tribune

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Sudanese security suspends and confiscates two newspapers

July 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Friday has seized copies of Al-Intibaha newspaper from the printing house without giving reasons while the National Council for Press and Publication (NCPP) suspended, Al-Midan, the mouthpiece of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) for one day.

Members of Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) hold banners outside the National Council for Press and Publication (NCPP) premises in Khartoum in protest against repeated seizure of newspapers, on May 26, 2015 (ST photo)
Members of Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) hold banners outside the National Council for Press and Publication (NCPP) premises in Khartoum in protest against repeated seizure of newspapers, on May 26, 2015 (ST photo)
According to the Sudanese media watchdog Journalists’ Association for Human Rights (JAHR), al-Midan was suspended for publishing news pertaining to the trials of twelve Christian women and two pastors.

The NCPP summoned the chief editor of al-Midan, Madiha Abdalla, on Monday to investigate her on the complaint filed by the NISS against the newspaper.

NISS claimed that the phrase: “Christians in Sudan face systemic targeting which affects their rights, beliefs and churches” published by the newspaper includes false and harmful information that undermines stability, religious cohesion and peaceful coexistence in the country.

According to JAHR, Abdalla pointed that the phrase was based on the facts and information issued by the Sudanese Council of Churches (SCC), stressing it is not inconsistent with the press code or the constitution which guarantees press freedom.
Abdalla emphasized that publishing of the news has neither entailed religious, ethnic or racial strife nor it incited war and violence.

However, the office of the prosecutor for press summoned Abdalla again on Thursday and interrogated her on another charges filed by the ministry of information against al-Midan on the same issue.

Al-Midan and its chief editor are facing charges under article (63) “calling for opposition to public authority by use of violence or criminal force” and article (66) “publication of false news” of the criminal code.

They are also facing charges under article (24) “responsibility of the chief editor” and article (26) “not to provoke religious, ethnic, and racial sedition or incite violence or war” of the press code.

The NISS recently suspended al-Midan several times which is the only remaining political party’s mouthpiece.

After the NISS lifted pre-publication censorship, it started punishing them retroactively by seizing copies of newspapers that breach unwritten red lines inflicting financial and moral losses on these media houses.

Journalists say that NISS uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.

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