Sudan halted operations of Saudi state-owned broadcasters Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, and UAE-owned Sky News Arabia channel on Tuesday, according to Sudanese state news agency (SUNA). This was “due to its lack of commitment to the required professionalism and transparency and failure to renew its licenses”.
The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate declared that the information ministry’s decision was a blatant infringement on press and speech freedoms and denounced it. “Closing satellite channels and restricting those working in the profession would silence the voice of the professional media, and would also open the door to the spread of rumors and hate speech,” it said on Tuesday in a statement.
The statement further stated that the decision is a continuation of the intimidation techniques used against journalists who have been working in hazardous settings since the start of the conflict in April of last year.
In a post on X, Al Hadath claimed that it was still unaware of the decision to halt operations for both its channel and Al Arabiya in Sudan. “We were surprised to hear of the decision to stop Al Hadath and Al Arabiya channel on state tv,” it added in another post on X.
Nearing its one-year anniversary, the Sudanese war began amid disagreements over the army’s and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) authority under a plan for free elections and a democratic transition approved by the international community.
