07 November 2006
Human Rights Watchdog Deplores Sudanese Intimidation of Press, November 6, 2006(Media seen facing restrictions when reporting on Darfur crisis)
By Michelle Austein
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The Sudanese government "is engaged in an increasingly blatant effort to muzzle and intimidate Sudan's independent press," the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch said November 6.
Sudanese authorities in Khartoum, the capital, "have been stepping up their harassment of Sudanese journalists and newspapers," Peter Takirambudde, Africa director for the independent, U.S.-based organization, said in an announcement.
Government security forces have censored and banned publications, arrested journalists and arbitrarily inspected newspaper offices and printing presses. In some instances editors were warned not to report on violent police actions or anti-government demonstrations, according to Human Rights Watch.
International media also face restrictions, particularly when covering the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The government's intimidation and restrictions mean that many human rights violations are not being reported, Takirambudde said.
Human Rights Watch reports that at least 15 journalists, both Sudanese and foreign, have been arrested in 2006. Among them is American journalist Paul Salopek.
Salopek, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, was arrested near the Sudan-Chad border while working on an assignment for National Geographic magazine in North Darfur. He appeared in court on August 26 and was charged with spying, using official information, publishing false news and entering Sudan without a visa.
Salopek, his driver and his interpreter were released after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pardoned them on September 9.
Sudan's Interim National Constitution, adopted in July 2005, grants citizens the right to free expression and access to information. It also calls for freedom of the press.
In a recent meeting at the White House with U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios, President Bush called for a "credible and effective international force" to be sent to Darfur and said the government of Sudan must understand that the United States is "earnest and serious" when calling for the Sudanese government to work with the international community. (See related article.)
The Human Rights Watch statement is available on its Web site.
For more information, see Freedom of the Press and Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
