Arrest of Newspaper Editor Violates Freedom of Expression

Contact: Osman Hummaida, Executive Director at
Phone: +447956095738
E-mail: osman@acjps.org

(19 April 2010) On 11 April 2010, Alhaj Warrag, a well known journalist, and Faiz Silaik, deputy editor in chief of Ajras Alhurria, were interrogated by Press and Publication authorities about an article written by Warrag. The article reflected on the withdrawal of Yassir Arman, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement’s candidate for the presidency, from the race, saying it was “a message against surrender to farcical legitimisation.” The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have filed a complaint against the two journalists under Article 66 of the Penal Code, which prohibits the publication of false news, and Articles 24 and 26 of the Press and Publications Act, which address guidelines for the licensing of newspapers and responsibilities of the Editor-in-chief, respectively. Warrag stated that the attorney showed him the article in question – with a paragraph describing the arrest and torture of Abdallah Mahdi, a member of Girifna, circled, and implying that this element of the story is the source of the false news charge.

The statute on the publication of false information states that conduct is criminal in cases where a person publishes information “knowing that it is not factual, intending to cause fear or anxiety to the public or a threat to public peace, or detracting from the prestige of the state”. Regulations on the media are necessary in order to ensure that the media serves its important role of informing the public in a responsible way, but such regulations, as exceptions to the internationally protected principle of freedom of expression, must be narrowly framed and restrictively applied. The Sudanese statute takes an overly broad stance by making reference to vague terms such as the “prestige of the state” which increases the probability that it may be exploited as a means of political persecution.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies calls on the government of Sudan to immediately revise the Penal Code and the Press and Publications Act in order to ensure that they are in compliance with international norms and adequately protect the rights of the Sudanese people to freedom of expression and access to information. In addition, the Centre calls on the government of Sudan to either bring forward information that Mr. Warrag and Mr. Silaik have committed an internationally recognised criminal offence or drop the charges against them.