Sudan: Al Jazeera journalist illegaly arrested by security forces

Sudanese security forces arrested Al Jazeera journalist Ali Abou Shaleh while he was covering anti-government protests in Khartoum and released him hours later. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Sudanese affiliate, the Sudanese Journalists Union (SJU), strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest and demand accountability for the mistreatment of our colleague.

Abou Shaleh was in the Sudanese capital to cover demonstrations against Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok when security armed forces arrested him.

According to his colleague Al-Taher Al-Mardi, who was with Shaleh at the time of his detention, the authorities didn’t give him time to introduce himself as a reporter for Al Jazeera. They took him right away to an “undisclosed location”. 

In a statement, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network described their reporter's arrest “humiliating” and demanded accountability.

While the Network expresses its relief for the return of Ali to his family, it denounces the violent abduction and humiliating treatment he endured during his brief detention. Al Jazeera demands that those responsible for this reprehensible behaviour be held accountable,” the statement said.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “We join the SJU in condemning the arbitrary arrest of journalist Ali Abou Shaleh while carrying out his job as a journalist. The Sudanese authorities must stop targeting and harassing media workers reporting on public demonstrations.

In a statement, the SJU said: "We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It demonstrates how the Transitional Government in Sudan is determined to punish and silence journalists. During the past two years, security forces closed down newspapers, TVs, and radio stations, arrested journalists, and dismissed 79 journalists from their jobs at the state-owned media without paying them their end-of-service compensations."

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

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