Sudan newspaper shut down on sedition charges

KHARTOUM, Sept 3 (AFP) — The independent Sudanese daily Alwan was shut down until an investigation of charges of sedition against it are completed, the Al-Rai Al-Aam daily reported Wednesday citing a state prosecutor.

The shut down order was effective Tuesday and will remain in place until an investigation is completed into charges by security services that the paper “frequently publishes reports that could incite sedition and trigger disorder, ” state prosecutor Mohammed Farid Hassan was quoted as saying.

In early August, President Omar al-Beshir loosened censorship measures on the press by bringing newspapers under the control of a National Press Council, lessening the powers of security services over press affairs.