Sudan: 84 broadcast workers fired over alleged loyalty to former regime

On 10 December, 84 journalists of the state National Authority of Radio and TV were dismissed due to alleged loyalty to the regime of former president Omar Al-Bashir and administrative irregularities in their hiring process. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Sudanese Journalists Union (SJU) condemn this decision and demand the immediate re-integration of all the media workers.

Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Credit: Ebrahim Hamid / AFP

According to media reports, 60 TV employees, 19 radio workers and 5 broadcasting journalists received their dismissal letters by Sudan’s Empowerment Removal Committee on 10 December. Many of them claimed that the decision had no basis and that they were given no opportunity to defend themselves.

Some journalists told the media they would appeal the decision.

This is not the first time media workers in Sudan are dismissed. On 31 August, 105 journalists of Tayba media group lost their jobs following a decision of the government-appointed administrator. The decision came eight months after the Disempowerment Committee had decided to shut down Tayba channel and radio station and seized its headquarters.

SJU said: “The dismissal is in line with the repressive practices of the anti-corruption committee on press freedom, which takes the form of constant prosecution of journalists. We are also astonished by the silence of the Minister of Culture and Information and the Directorate of the Radio and Television Authority about this new attack against journalists. We call on the IFJ and international and regional federations and all organizations active in freedom and human rights to support and defend the dismissed journalists and to put pressure on the Sudanese authorities to put an end to these decisions”.

IFJ Secretary General, Anthony Bellanger, said: “Journalists shouldn't be fired for their political views. We support SJU and our colleagues in calling for all fired journalists to be reintegrated. We warn the sudanese government against any attempt to undermine press freedom and intimidate journalists.”

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

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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