Sudanese journalists, newspaper editors, and human rights activists organised a gatheringto markandnbsp;World Press Freedom Dayandnbsp;on Saturday, during which they condemned the continued restrictions shackling the Sudanese press.
The representative of Sudanese Journalists Network, Hassan Bireika, confirmed in his introductory speech that the press in Sudan is suffering from an economic crisis, security restrictions, summons and the banning of journalists from writing by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). The Network demanded the abolition of all press freedom restrictive laws.
Journalist and columnist El Nur Ahmed El Nur, who was dismissed from his post as a editor-in-chief of El Sahafa Newspaper by the order of the NISS last year, noted that in the past year 12 political newspapers had to stop publication for economic and security reasons. “The number of newspapers has declined with 32 percent.”
The winner of the 2013 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, journalist and columnist Faisal Mohammed Saleh, stressed that press freedom would not be complete without access to information and the protection of journalists during their work.
Madiha Abdallah, editor-in-chief of El Midan newspaper warned that the Sudanese press is not only facing a shortage of factual information, but also a serious decline in capacity and expertise.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Sudan 172th out of the 180 listed countries in its 2014 Press Freedom Index. andnbsp;
File photo: Women protesting against the arrest of Sudanese journalists and press restrictions (archive Radio Dabanga)