Faisal Elbagir

Faisal Elbagir is a prominent Sudanese journalist and human rights defender. He is the founder and Coordinator General of Journalists for Human Rights – Sudan, an organization monitoring the freedom of expression and media. He first began his career as an activist in Sudan in the mid-80s, and went on to co-found several Sudanese civil society initiatives and human rights organizations, including the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED). Faisal served as the Secretary General at KCHRED and Project Coordinator of the Media and Freedom of Expression programme until KCHRED was arbitrarily forced to close in 2009 by Sudanese authorities after the indictment of President al Bashir by the International Criminal Court. Faisal has worked as a journalist for several Sudanese newspapers, and provided training on human rights and the media to countless Sudanese and South Sudanese journalists. He has served as Sudan and South Sudan correspondent for Reporters without Borders since 1998. He is the editor in chief of Sudans Reporters, and a fellow of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Faisal holds a BA in political science and MA in politics from the University of Poona, India.