Sudanese journalist to appear before court for photographing military areas

November 17, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese journalist by the name of Aisha el-Samani will appear in al-Nuhood court in West Kordofan state on November 26th to face charges under article (57) of the criminal law relating to entering and photographing military premises.

On July 4th, police arrested el-Samani, who works for the English language daily newspaper Citizen, near al-Nuhood prison where the leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), Ibrahim al-Sheikh, had been jailed for criticizing a government militia.

Al-Samani was then taken to al-Nuhood police station where she was interrogated for one hour before being released after confiscating her mobile phone. She was forced to suspend her assignment and ordered to return to her workplace in Khartoum.

If convicted, al-Samani, will be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year and/ or fined.

Al-Jareeda journalist Hassan Ishag was also detained by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in al-Nuhood. He was released after he spent 100 days in prison and went on an open-ended hunger strike.

Meanwhile, the NISS has confiscated edition of al-Akhbar newspaper on Sunday. Last week NISS also confiscated editions of al-Watan and al-Jareeda newspapers without giving reasons.

Journalists say that confiscation and suspension of newspapers is a commonly used practice by the local authorities to overburden the newspapers with financial losses alongside other non-financial pressures.

Sudan’s Journalists’ Association for Human Rights (JAHR) said that trial of journalists outside the capital Khartoum was intended to exhaust them financially, physically and emotionally.

Al-Jareeda journalist, Abdel-Nasser al-Hag, had appeared last Thursday before the press and publication court in Wad Medani in al- Jezira state.

On 15 October, the editor-in-chief of al-Jareeda , Idris Al-Douma, was ordered to appear before the intellectual property court in Khartoum and simultaneously appear before the press and publication court in Wad Medani in the al- Jezira state.

Sudan’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression but laws subordinate to the constitution such as the National Security Forces Act of 2010 contains articles that can be potentially used to curtail press freedom and instigate legal proceedings against newspapers and individual journalists.

(ST)