CPJ calls for release of Sudan journalist

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 9 May 2012

The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the immediate release of Sudanese journalist Faisal Mohamed Saleh after he was arrested from his home in Khartoum. CPJ said the NISS has held him incommunicado and denied access to family and legal counsel.

Summary

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

KEY POINTS:

• CPJ demanded the release of columnist Faisal Mohamed Saleh detained by Sudan’s NISS.
• Saleh was arrested from his home in Khartoum and taken to an undisclosed location, according to reports.
• The security services have not disclosed his condition or whereabouts and have denied family and lawyer access.
• Saleh had faced weeks of harassment and was questioned after critical remarks in an Al Jazeera interview.
• CPJ said the detention appears linked to his criticism of the government’s human rights and press freedom record.