Citizen Newspaper Suspended From Circulation in Sudan

The Sudanese English newspaper, Citizen has been banned from operating in the next one month by the Sudanese National Security Council.

The popular daily newspaper that is sold in South Sudan was ordered to close shop on Monday, November 1 after receiving a verbal warning from the Council.

The Chief Editor of Citizen Newspaper Nhial Bol told Gurtong that the Council allegedly banned the paper for claims that it is working against the Islamic norms.

He said that the newspaper signed a contract with a Kenyan advertising Agency to advertise a drink in the Sudan, a deal that did not go well with the Council as alcohol consumption is highly abhorred by the Muslim community.

He said that the verbal warning came immediately after the signing of the contract.

“I urge the Council to put the warning in writing as it can be used as a reference”, he said.

He said that on Sunday October 31, the Council wrote to the management of the Citizen Newspaper in Khartoum ordering that the termination of the publication of the paper from November 1, 2010.

The Council also opened a case against the paper accusing it of abusing the Islamic Sharia law by advertising alcohol in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

It also ordered the immediate arrest and imprisonment of the Citizen Newspaper’s Editor Osman Shinger for three years for disrespecting Sharia law in Sudan.

Bol said that the interference of the Security Council has affected the performance of Citizen as it has demoralised the paper’s ardent readers.

“This is not the first time we are being suspended from operation but the 34th time such is happening”, he said.

He termed the action as an indication of interfering with the media as an institution with the sole responsibility of disseminating information on the forthcoming South Sudan referendum.

“This is a justification that South Sudan should be left to go. The newspaper’s Khartoum office will be closed down and all operations relocated to Juba in South Sudan. We want to pay all our staffs in Khartoum and those who want to remain there are free to do so”, said Bol.