Sudan finance minister orders arrest of journalist over graft inquiry
May 18, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan finance minister Ali Mahmud has been embroiled in controversy after he reportedly ordered the arrest of a local journalist who questioned him on evidence showing that he had authorized an overly large salary to one of his subordinates.
According to the paper, the story began when Ibrahim met the minister and questioned him on the authenticity of a job contract signed by the minister and showing that the general manager of the Khartoum Stock Exchange is earning a monthly salary exceeding by two times the announced salary of the country’s President Omar Al-Bashir’s.
Al-Sudani recounted that the minister reacted angrily to the journalist question and ordered his security guards to arrest him immediately.
The Network of Sudanese Journalists (NSJ), a local press-freedom watchdog group, strongly denounced Al-Sudani’s journalist arrest, saying it is a dangerous precedent which violates the rights of journalists in doing their work to protect the country’s resources from being squandered.
NSJ called on the presidency of the republic to investigate the journalist’s arrest, citing articles guaranteeing press freedoms in Sudan’s interim constitution of 2005.
(ST)
Adam
Sudan finance minister orders arrest of journalist over graft inquiry
Can our journalists do the same? Although I trust many of them, but I doubted very much that any of them would do so. Because he will not be just illegally held for few hours (as the Darfurian North Sudan Minister did), they will be taken to another galaxy after being tortured severely, and fed to Aliens.
No one dares to inquire any SPLA/SPLM senior or junior staff with facts of corruption that make them naked before public. Any one tries to do so is lost in action. We have no rule of law. We have gods all around us.
Adam Milawaki – Mayendit
Southern Sudan