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The
family of detained journalist Amel Habbani calling for her release
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As
protests have taken place in Sudan over the past week, the government has
attempted to control the flow of information and has targeted members of the
medi.
"Why
do you insist on lying? We all know that the martyrs were killed by National
Congress Party (NCP) militias?" This was the question asked by Burham
Abdel-Moniem, a journalist working at Al-Youm
Al-Taly in a
press conference , broadcast live on Tuesday, with the Governor of Khartoum
state as well as the Ministers of Interior and Information, respectively.
The
Minister of Information could barely conceal his anger, mumbling that the
journalist would be dealt with for accusing the ruling party of killing
protestors. Moments later, Abdel-Moniem found himself kicked out of the hall
and summoned by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).
"I
was told that I should have worded my question better since the country is now
in a barrel of gunpowder and could explode, I told them killing innocent people
is why the country is in a barrel of gunpowder," Abdel-Moniem explained to
Doha Centre for Media Freedom.
Abdel-Moniem
was then attacked personally in an article published by a member of the NISS in
yesterday's issue of Al-Youm
Al-Taly. But the journalist has also been championed as a
national hero and a Facebook page carrying his name was liked over 3000 times
in less than an hour.
"I
am not scared about my personal safety, but I'm scared about the future of the
Sudanese press and I'm scared about my country. I am just a normal journalist,
I'm not too precious to die for my country and people," said Abdel-Moniem
in an interview, adding that he will continue working.
Dramatic
changes
The
Sudanese press situation has changed dramatically over the past few days. Four
newspapers have been shut down, including the largest newspaper, Al-Intibaha, at
least five journalists were stopped from writing, three journalists were
detained in addition to the prevalence of self-censorship and censorship by
NISS.
"They
sat down the editors-in-chief like school children, told them stop being
ill-mannered and forget about media and press ethics," said a source who
wished to remain anonymous.
The
source referred to a meeting held by the NISS and editors-in-chief on Wednesday
of last week, in the height of mass protests in Sudan that the government said
has claimed 33 lives, while the doctor's syndicate stated that the death toll
has reached 210.
Peaceful
protestors have taken to the streets last week all over Sudan to protest the
lifting of the fuel subsidies which doubled and tripled prices of all basic
items. The protests led to confrontations between police and protestors,
resulting in the burning of at least two police stations and several gas
stations as well as the firing of live bullets.
The
government has described the situation as a rampage by uncontrolled gangs and
referred to the protesters as "saboteurs," sending press releases to
the newspapers about the saboteurs and how they caused harm to citizens’ lives
and property.
Stuck
between a rock and a hard place
Awad
Mohamed Awad who is the publisher of Al-Jareeda
Newspaper, an independent newspaper in Khartoum, told DCMF that
after the meeting with NISS, the newspaper decided to stop issuing.
"NISS
told us that we have to publish the government side of the story only and if we
cannot accommodate it, they will understand if we decide not to issue. We
stopped publishing because we can't abide by their standards, ethically and
professionally-speaking," said Awad adding that other newspapers also
stopped publishing.
As
Al-Jareeda
disappeared from the newsstands, the NISS began pressuring the newspaper's
administration to start issuing again.
"When
we told them again that we will not issue until we can report what is happening,
we were told that we are prohibited from publishing, indefinitely," said
Awad adding that a columnist at their newspaper, Dr. Zuheir Al-Sarraj, was also
stopped from writing.
During
the press conference, the Minister of Information said that media outlets
choosing not to present a positive image of events can resume publishing after
the security situation is under control.
Awad
believes that the Minister was referring to newspapers like Al-Jareeda in his
speech.
A
day after the controversial meeting between NISS and editors, the executive
secretariat of the Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN), an independent body and
a rival to the governmental Sudanese Journalist's Union, sat down in a meeting
to decide on how to take action.
"We
decided to go on strike on Saturday 28th of September, to protest the results
of the meeting and because newspapers like Al-Jareeda,
Al-Ayam and Al-Qarar
were already deciding to stop publishing," said Mohamed Al-Fateh from the
SJN's executive secretariat.
80%
of journalists in all newspapers took part in the strike which was seen as
successful by the SJN.
"Then,
the NISS began calling newspapers to get names of journalists on strike and the
editors-in-chief of various newspapers told their journalists that based on
Labour Law, they would be fired if the strike continues over three days in a
row," Al-Fateh explained.
The
SJN decided to get back to work on Monday so the journalists could work for one
day and then strike for two days.
"We
will continue this way until we feel that the working situation is suitable for
journalists to work," added Al-Fateh in a phone interview with DCMF.
"Deteriorating
working conditions"
Amidst
the strike and the deteriorating working conditions for journalists, four
journalists from one of the biggest dailies, Al-Sahafa
quit their newspapers to protest its stance. Al-Sahafa's
headlines for days blamed the protests on saboteurs and published reports on
the destruction caused by the protestors.
Moreover,
three journalists were arrested while covering protests or silent stands. One
of which, Amel Habbani, an award-winning journalist and columnist with Al-Khartoum
newspaper, has been in detention since Saturday.
"We
received a call from the NISS four days ago, telling us that they have her and
she is being interrogated, they asked us to bring her clothes," said
Shawqi Abdel-Azeem, Habbani's husband.
Abdel-Azeem
added that Habbani was arrested while covering the funeral of Salah Sanhouri, a
protestor who was allegedly shot dead during Friday's mass protests.
"We
still don't know how long she will be held or where she is being kept,"
said Abdel-Azeem who is also a well-known journalist.
While
Sanhouri and others lost their lives on Friday's protests, the offices of Al-Arabiya, an Arab
world news channel, and Sky
News Arabia, the Abu-Dhabi based branch of the British Sky News, were
closed down in Khartoum on Friday afternoon for their coverage of the ongoing
movement as mass protests took place in different places in Sudan.
The
Sky News team
in Khartoum was summoned last Wednesday and Thursday, but the channel was
officially closed by the NISS on Friday afternoon.
"I
was summoned on Wednesday due to a story on Sky
News based on a video showing army personnel joining protestors.
We were asked to apologise, I told them that the army needs to deny the
reports instead," said Tarik Al-Tijani, Sky
News correspondent in Khartoum.
Al-Tijani
and his cameraman's press cards issued by the External Media Unit at the
Ministry of Information were confiscated leaving them unable to attend press
conferences, film or do any coverage for the channel.
"The
Minister of Foreign Affairs said this closure is temporary and they are looking
into it, we are waiting to get back to work," said Al-Tijani to DCMF.
Source: DCMF
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