Sudanese security confiscates print runs of two newspapers
March 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) seized copies of Al-Ayam and Al-Mustaqilla newspaper in the early hours of Sunday from the printing house without giving reasons.
He said the move was likely triggered by a series of Op-eds by the editor in chief Mahgoub Mohmaed Salih in which he focused on the failure of the African mediation and criticized the roadmap agreement which the opposition forces refused to sign.
Al-Tayeb pointed that the newspaper suffers from financial difficulties as the NISS continues to block it from receiving commercial advertisements.
“Now the newspaper would bear heavy financial burdens due to the confiscation of its print runs and it might not be issued again,” he said.
According to the non-governmental Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) network, the copies of the newspaper were seized at 2:30 am (local time) on Sunday, saying the NISS agents ordered the printing house not to distribute the print runs without giving reasons.
Al-Ayam , an independent newspaper, was founded in 1953 by its current publisher and chief editor Mahgoub Mohamed Salih and his partners Mahgoub Osman and Bashir Mohamed Saeed.
Also, JHR said that NISS has confiscated Sunday’s issue of Al-Mustaqilla newspaper.
It said that a NISS agent ordered the printing house not to distribute the print runs of the newspaper without stating reasons.
The NISS routinely confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively on previous issues.
It accuses the newspapers of crossing the red lines through publishing reports which adversely impact the national security.
In February 2015, NISS seized entire print runs of 14 newspapers in one day without stating the reasons for its decision.
Journalists say that NISS uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.
(ST)