The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Sudanese authorities to release up to a dozen journalists who have been held for over two weeks in two separate incidents in the North and South of the country.

In Kharthoum, deputy Editor Abu Zar al-Amin and reporters Ashraf Abdel Aziz and Dahab Ibrahim, all working for the opposition owned Rai al-Shaab's newspaper have been in detention since 16 May accused of undermining relations between Sudan and the United States.

"It is unacceptable for journalists to be arrested for their reporting," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The Government is free to engage media and rebut reports which it considers inaccurate without resorting to this kind of repression."

According to our information al-Amin, Aziz and Ibrahim were arrested in a raid by security officers on the Rai al- Shaab's offices. Two days earlier the paper, which is owned by the opposition National Congress Party (NCP), had published unsubstantiated allegations that Iranian Revolutionary Guards' were involved in the construction of a weapons factory in Sudan. The authorities accused the NCP of publishing lies in order to damage Sudan's relations with the United States.

The Sudanese Journalists' Union (SJU), an IFJ affiliate, also condemned the arrests and called for the journalists' immediate release. They insisted that the government must not use this incident to reintroduce prior censorship of the press.

In a separate incident nine journalists working for the Southern Sudan State Television have been detained in Juba, since May 21, for refusing to cover the inauguration ceremony of Salva Kiir, President of Sudan's semi-autonomous south. The journalists had been on strike in protest against delayed wages when the ceremony took place.

"Arresting striking journalists is another intolerable abuse of power," commented White. "The new President of the South of Sudan must learn to afford his citizens the democratic rights that they exercised when electing him president."

For more information contact the IFJ at     +32 2 235 22 07

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide