Sudan’s El Jareeda daily gagged for the eighth time

18/12/2016 11:40 KHARTOUM

On Friday, officers of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) seized all 12,000 copies of the El Jareeda independent newspaper from the printing press without providing any reason.
Since 27 November, the first day of a three-day civil disobedience action in Khartoum against the government’s policies and austerity measures implemented in November, a number of print-runs of El Jareeda and other independent newspapers were confiscated, allegedly for criticising the government and reporting on the disobedience action.
For El Jareeda it was the eight time since the end of November that its copies were seized.
Editor-in-chief Ashraf Abdelaziz told Radio Dabanga that he does not understand the targeting of his newspaper by the security apparatus.

On Friday, officers of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) seized all 12,000 copies of the El Jareeda independent newspaper from the printing press without providing any reason.

Since 27 November, the first day of a three-day civil disobedience action in Khartoum against the government’s policies and austerity measures implemented in November, a number of print-runs of El Jareeda and other independent newspapers were confiscated, allegedly for criticising the government and reporting on the disobedience action.

For El Jareeda it was the eighth time since the end of November that its copies were seized.

Editor-in-chief Ashraf Abdelaziz told Radio Dabanga that he does not understand the targeting of his newspaper by the security apparatus.

“Our newspaper is independent, and reports about the issues and problems of the people. Even if we address matters related to many obvious issues in politics, we are reporting about them in a professional way, without any agenda.”

Abdelaziz stressed that “El Jareeda will continue to continue its efforts for the realisation of the freedom of expression. We will never stop reporting about issues concerning the people.”

Last week, the newspaper’s board decided to take legal action against the NISS.

El Jareeda has received financial contributions from a number of readers as compensation for the losses caused by the recurrent confiscations.