Sudan - April 2024

On 2 April, Sudan’s Ministry of Culture and Information suspended the operations of three TV channels in the country, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Al Arabiya and Al Hadath and the UAE-owned Sky News Arabia. The Ministry justified its decision on the grounds that the outlets had failed to renew their licences and that they had shown ‘a lack of commitment to the required professionalism and transparency.’ The suspensions were heavily criticised by the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, a trade union, which described them as a ‘clear violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the media’ and asserted that they were part of a broader pattern of journalist intimidation in Sudan, which is in the midst of a civil war.

Sources: Reuters, Sudan Tribune, Sudanese Journalists Syndicate, Committee to Protect Journalists, Radio Dabanga