Proposed Sudan Media Law Targets Press Freedom
A newly proposed media law is a setback for press freedom in Sudan, Reem Abbas reports from Khartoum.
KHARTOUM, Sudan — A few weeks ago, a mysterious document appeared at the national assembly, the Sudanese parliament. It was a draft for a press law, put together by a body which has yet to reveal its identity.
Normally, such a document should be submitted to the political sector of the National Congress Party (NCP) — the ruling party of Sudan — which verifies the bill and hands it to the national assembly after consultations with the Press Council, the Journalist’s Union and the media in general.
The document made its own way to the national assembly, to the dismay of journalists who were shocked to find the new laws were more repressive than the 2009 press law, which were then dubbed the "worst press law in Sudan's history."
Afaf Tawor, who represents the media committee in parliament, told journalists on Dec. 1 that the new laws "have penalties including fines for journalists, suspending a journalist from writing for up to two months, suspending an editor-in-chief from work and confiscating press cards from both."
