Sudan’s security prosecution office arrests two newspapers editors
December 16, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s state security prosecution office Wednesday evening has arrested the Chief-Editors of al-Tayyar and al-Saiha daily newspapers.
Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) seized copies of al-Tayyar in the early hours of Monday from the printing house without giving reasons. On Tuesday, the newspaper was suspended indefinitely.
According to al-Tayar journalists, this is the eighth time an issue was seized by NISS this year.
Also, the Chief Editor of al-Saiha newspaper Ahmed Youssef al-Tai was arrested Wednesday by the state security prosecution office.
Al-Tai and Merghani were both released later under guarantee of their place of residence.
During the press conference, Adeeb expressed surprise about the NISS decision to suspend a-Tayar, saying the Constitutional Court had earlier said the NISS doesn’t have the power to suspend newspapers
He pointed that article (24) of the Constitutional Court Act prohibits resorting to any other law following its decision not to use it, adding that NISS has repeated its action by suspending al-Tayyar in clear defiance of the law and the court.
Adeeb noted that on Wednesday he submitted a claim for the protection of a constitutional right to the Constitutional Court, saying he would use the court’s ruling about the unconstitutionality of the suspension decision as a precedent.
The legal advisor also pointed that he submitted a request under article (16) to issue a temporary order to stop the suspension procedures pending the outcome of the claim in order to prevent any damage that could result from the suspension decision.
For his part, Merghani said that NISS hasn’t yet informed him of the reasons behind the suspension decision.
He pointed that he appeared Monday before the complaints committee at the National Council for Press and Publication (NCPP) to discuss a column he recently published and was seen by the committee as “inciting people to protest against the government” and a call for an “Arab Spring in Sudan”.
Merghani said he has been previously invited by some Western diplomats to leave the country following his famous assault incident, saying he declined to accept the invitation and preferred to stay in Sudan to continue the legal battle.
A group of masked gunmen on 18 July 2014 stormed the building of Al-Tayyar in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum and assaulted Merghani. They also confiscated all cellular phones and laptops of the newspaper’s staff and attacked several journalists before leaving.
The attack was thought to have been triggered by statements Merghani made during a TV talk show program in which he defended the issue of normalising relations with Israel. He also wrote a column on the same issue in Al-Tayyar.
The NISS routinely suspends and confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively on previous issues.
In February, NISS seized entire print runs of 14 newspapers in one day without stating the reasons for its decision.
In June 2012, NISS suspended al-Tayyar indefinitely and allowed it to resume publication two years later upon a ruling of the Constitutional Court.
JOURNALISTS UNION DENOUNCES AL-TAYYAR’S SUSPENSION
Meanwhile, the pro-government Sudan Journalists Union (SJU) has condemned the indefinite suspension of al-Tayyar expressing concern about the situation of the press freedoms in the country.
In a statement Wednesday, the SJU called for arriving at common concepts to maintain the balance between freedom and responsibility, demanding the launch of a transparent dialogue to stop the extraordinary measures against the newspapers.
It announced that it has embarked on intensive contacts with the political and security organs to lift the ban on al-Tayyar as soon as possible.
Also, the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has denounced the suspension of al-Tayyar without legal justification or court ruling, describing the move as a “well-established totalitarian practice” that represents an integral part of the behaviour of the regime.
(ST)