Call for greater freedom of expression

The human rights advocacy group, Amnesty International (AI), has called for restrictions on freedom of expression to be lifted in Sudan, following the confiscation of an edition of a local newspaper on 9 March. The offending article, published in the 'Khartoum Monitor', quoted at length from a well-known history of Sudan concerning the Egyptian Mameluke expeditions into the country between 1275 and 1324, AI reported. The article had suggested that the advance of Islam into Sudan had not always been peaceful. As a result, the whole edition had been confiscated, causing "serious financial loss" to the newspaper and the acting editor, Nhial Bol, who was also interrogated for an hour by Sudanese security services. "It is of fundamental importance that journalists, media and all Sudanese should be able to hold free discussions on important questions relating to the future of Sudan, including questions of human rights and those areas which are being defined and discussed by the peace negotiators," said AI. The list of topics which had brought "harsh government action" included coverage of the conflict in southern Sudan, in border areas or elsewhere; any criticism of government actions in relation to the ongoing peace talks; human rights violations, including detention of government critics; protest demonstrations; and criticism of government policies, AI reported.