Sudanese journalist arrested since two weeks in Darfur – publisher
October 25, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese authorities arrested a Darfur journalist and keep him incommunicado since two weeks ago for translating comments by a displaced during the visit of a Qatari official to the region on October 11.
Nurredin Braima, 35, was detained on Oct. 11 after he translated comments from a displaced Darfurian woman into Arabic at a press conference for a visiting Qatari state minister for foreign affairs in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, said Salah Kajam, publisher of the daily Ajras Al Huryia (Freedom Bells).
The comments were not known, but Kajam speculated the detention was part of a broader government crackdown against journalists and Darfuris to prevent them from speaking about the crisis.
“We believe they did not like the statement of the woman whatever she said and which he volunteered to translate in all honesty,” said Kajam. “The sole crime of this man is that he helped a woman whose crime is that she does not speak Arabic.”
Ajras Al-Huriya has close ties with the former rebel group the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). Yasir Arman, the deputy secretary general of the SPLM, condemned the detention of the journalist two days ago.
“We strongly condemn the detention of Noureddin Brema,” he said.
Kajam said Braima is a member of the SPLM.
A government official said Braima was detained for causing a commotion in the room during an official visit.
Kajam said he decided not to print his daily on Thursday after security officials visited his print shop late the night before and removed seven articles and opinion pieces about Braima’s arrest.
Sudan has around 30 independent daily papers. But national security concerns are often cited when acting against journalists, and the Darfur crisis remains a sensitive issue.
Since the Comprehensive peace Agreement in 2005, the National Congress Party and the SPLM are the main partners in the government of National Unity however mistrust still runs deep between the two partners.
(ST)