Sudanupdated 47m ago2 min read
Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate Documents 673 Violations, Including 34 Killings, Since Sudan War
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Syndicate documents 673 violations against journalists since April 15, 2023, in Sudan. Violations include 34 killings, 116 arrests/detention/disappearances, and 120 threats and hate speech.
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673 violations since war
The Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate documented 673 violations against journalists since the outbreak of war in Sudan on 15 April 2023, including 34 killings, 116 cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, and enforced disappearance, and 120 cases of threats and hate speech. The syndicate’s Freedom Secretariat said threats against journalists have taken increasingly dangerous forms, and it reported that by the end of June 2026 it had documented 673 violations including 34 incidents of direct targeting and gunfire.
The Freedom Secretariat expressed particular concern over cases of five journalists subjected to enforced disappearance, naming Ashraf El Habr in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Musab El Hadi whose captors remain unknown, and Mustafa Fadl El Mawla, Magdi Youssef El Zein and Mohamed Hussein Shalabi in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The syndicate warned that it had documented 64 cases of prosecution during the war, including complaints filed under the Cybercrime Act against 47 journalists and media organisations in a single instance, after which 18 journalists were declared wanted fugitives.
Cybercrime Act and impunity
The Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate said it warned about recent amendments to the Cybercrime Act and Article 51/A of the 1991 Criminal Act, which brought electronic and media publishing within the scope of the legislation. The Freedom Secretariat raised concerns about the establishment of a national mechanism to combat cybercrime in the absence of stronger safeguards for freedom of expression, and it called for independent and transparent investigations into crimes targeting journalists.
The Freedom Secretariat demanded the repeal of restrictive legal provisions that curtail freedom of expression and the press, and it called for an end to the use of criminal laws and emergency powers as instruments of repression. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 02 November 2026 and said, “Every journalist killed or neutralized by terror is an observer less of the human condition.”
Calls for accountability and protection
The Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate called for full protection for the journalistic community and guaranteed access to information, stressing that combating impunity is fundamental to safeguarding press freedom and society’s right to know.
The syndicate also said it had documented arbitrary arrests involving Adam Ishaq Manan and Maamar Ibrahim, and it warned that complete information was unavailable about detainees held in areas under SAF control.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights said it reiterated that freedom of expression, press freedom and access to information can only be enjoyed when journalists and media practitioners are free from intimidation, pressure and coercion.
The Commission linked the day’s theme, “Threats Evolve. Impunity Endures,” to the emergence of new technologies changing the means through which attacks against journalists are perpetrated, while it said the need for accountability remains and those responsible continue to escape justice.