Sudan journalist abducted and mistreated

Men wearing military uniforms abducted and mistreated a Sudanese journalist in downtown Khartoum on Thursday. Another journalist was refused access to a press conference.

Mohamed Jadin, working for El Sayha newspaper, was going home on Thursday evening, when a group of armed men wearing military uniforms abducted him in their Land Cruiser.

The men beat him, stole his cell phone, and finally let him go at the White Nile near Acacia forest in central Khartoum.

The Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) condemned the assault of the journalist in a statement yesterday. It called the incident “a dangerous indicator, which shows that walking in the streets of Khartoum is no longer safe for citizens”.

The network also denounced the expulsion of Nahed Saeed, correspondent of El Tayar newspaper, from a press conference held by eastern Sudanese Beja nazirs at the office of the National Umma Party in Omdurman.

The network considers this “a violation of her right to obtain information and publish it”. “When journalists criticise a certain party, this can not have as a consequence that they are stopped from doing their work. Neither should that political party refuse to deal with them.”

The network sees the beginning of a process in which journalists are classified by political parties as “journalists that are with us or journalists that are against us”.

* A nazir is a state-appointed administrative chief of a tribe, according to the native administration system in Sudan.

Radio Dabanga’s editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.