Sudan: The "Sahafa" newspaper in Khartoum Sudan including format, content, distribution, list of editors and journalists, closure of paper by Sudanese authorities, and arrests and detentions of employees
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 11 February 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SDN38396.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sudan: The "Sahafa" newspaper in Khartoum Sudan including format, content, distribution, list of editors and journalists, closure of paper by Sudanese authorities, and arrests and detentions of employees, 11 February 2002, SDN38396.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4bea8c.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The information which follows was provided to the International Secretariat of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), by the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG):
On March 22, 2000, 7:00 p.m. the Sudanese security forces arrested Kamal Hassan Bakheit, Chief Editor of Al Sahafa Newspaper. At 9:00 p.m., on the same day, the Sudanese poet and former diplomat Sidahmed Al Hardalou, was also arrested. Both men were taken to the security offices in Khartoum North, near Shandi bus-station. STVG received reports that the two men were confined to their chairs throughout the night, without being interrogated (27 Mar. 2000) ...
on March 23, 2000, 2.00 p.m., the Sudanese security forces arrested four other journalists working at the Al Sahafa Newspaper. They were Deputy-Chief Editor Ahmed Omar Rabie, Head of the Political Section, Abdelgadir Hafiz and journalists Rabie Hamida and Anwar Altakaina, both from the political section. The journalists have not been interrogated but it is believed that the reason behind these arrests is that the Al Sahafa Newspaper published articles, which the Security Forces believed supported the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the opposition umbrella organization. In addition recently Al Sahafa Newspaper interviewed Abdelaziz Khalid, the leader of the Sudanese Alliance Forces, (SAF) and published articles by Dr. Mansour Khalid, the advisor of John Garang (ibid) ...
The journalists were arrested under the National Security Act, which provides the security forces with investigative powers that allow arrests, incommunicado detentions without judicial review and arbitrary searches (ibid.)
Without giving as much detail as OMCT, Country Reports for Human Rights Practices 2000 (Mar. 2001, 567), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (n.d), and media reports corroborate the arrest and detention of the five journalists and the poet (AFP 25 Mar. 2000; Arabic News 25 Mar. 2000). One of the journalists, Ahead Irani, is mentioned by the CPJ but not by the OMCT. The CPJ claims that the journalists and the poet were "harassed while in detention" (n.d.).
The journalists were allegedly detained for '"writing and publishing articles and poems that were against the government and supported the Sudanese opposition'" (CPJ, n.d.). Agence France Presse alleges the journalists were released after 13 hours of detention (25 Mar. 2000), but the CPJ states that they were detained for five hours and then released (n.d.). AFP and Arabic News both state that as a result of the absence of its editors, the publisher of the Al-Sahafa, a Khartoum daily, reportedly remained closed for two days due to the arrests (25 Mar. 2000). It is not clear from the sources consulted whether it re-opened or not.
Reports on the format, content and distribution of Al-Sahafa could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 25 March 2000. "Sudanese Authorities Arrest Journalist, Lawyer." (NEXIS)
Arabic News. 25 March 2000. "Five Journalists and a Poet Arrested in Sudan."
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "Sudan: In December, Strongman Oman Hassan Al-Bashir Won."
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. United States Government Printing Office.
The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) [Geneva]. 27 March 2000. "OMCT Concerned With the Arrest of 6 Journalists in Sudan." (Africa News 27 Mar. 2000/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Issues
Amnesty International
IRB Databases
LEXIS/NEXIS
Keesing's Recorder of World Events
New African [London]
Resource Centre. Country File. Sudan.
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
All Africa News
Arab News
Human Right Watch
Search engines including:
Mamma
