CPJ calls for release of Sudan journalist

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 13 years ago

NEW YORK:The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for immediate release of journalist Faisal Mohamed Saleh, who was arrested by the Sudanese security services from his home after facing two weeks of harassment.

The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested Saleh, a columnist who contributes to several independent and opposition publications, from his home in Khartoum and took him to an unknown location, according to news reports and Faisal al-Baqri, the general coordinator of the group Journalists for Human Rights in Sudan, who spoke to CPJ.

The NISS has not disclosed Saleh's health, condition, or whereabouts and has denied him access to his family or a lawyer, al-Baqri said.

Saleh has been a frequent critic of the government's human rights and press freedom record, according to news reports. On April 25, the NISS summoned Saleh for questioning after he made critical comments in an Al-Jazeera interview in regard to President Omar al-Bashir, according to a letter the journalist wrote that was published by the news website Sudanese Online on Monday. The NISS also warned Saleh to be cautious when speaking to the foreign media, the letter said.

"The Sudanese security forces appear to have targeted Faisal Mohamed Saleh because of his critical journalism," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "Authorities should release Saleh immediately and stop harassing him."

See more here:

http://www.cpj.org/2012/05/in-sudan-journalist-detained-newspapers-confiscate.php