UK Refuses Sudanese Journalist Mohammed Amin Visa, Blocks London One World Media Award

Sudanese freelance correspondent Mohammed Amin, who reports for Middle East Eye from Sudan, was refused a UK visa to travel to London to receive the One World Media Journalist of the Year award.

“LONDON: Sudanese journalist Mohammed Amin has been denied a UK visa to attend an awards ceremony at which he has been nominated for a top prize recognizing his reporting from Sudan”

Arab News

The Home Office told Amin it was not satisfied he had a genuine reason to visit and that he would not leave the country at the end of his stay, and there was no right of appeal or administrative review against the decision.

Arab News

Amin said the Home Office told him “I might not leave the country, meaning that I might seek asylum here,” and he accepted the award by video after being unable to attend the London ceremony in person.

Arab News reported that Amin was due to attend the One World Media Awards, where he is nominated for Journalist of the Year, and that his eight-day visa application was rejected on the same grounds.

One World Media’s interim director Chinwe Kalu-Uma said it was “deeply disappointing” that Amin, who had “at great risk continued to report from inside Sudan,” was denied a visa to travel to London.

Amin told Arab News that “There’s a contradiction between British journalists, who consider what is happening in Sudan,” and the UK government that organizes conferences about Sudan in London but denies visas for journalists.

Dabanga Radio TV Online

Middle East Eye reported that Amin accepted the award by video and said, “I would like to say here that the Sudanese are not a heavy burden in this world. We are equal partners in humanity.”

Dabanga Radio TV Online said Amin called the rejection “discriminatory” and described the rejection letter as stating the United Kingdom had “no guarantees that he would return to his country of origin after attending the award ceremony.”

The dispute over Amin’s barred entry is framed by Middle East Eye as part of a broader pattern of barriers for Sudanese journalists, with the outlet noting that applicants from Sudan have faced increased barriers and scrutiny since the outbreak of war in April 2023.

“MEE correspondent Mohammed Amin, refused UK visa, wins One World Media Award Mohammed Amin has won One World Media’s prestigious Journalist of the Year award for his reporting as a freelance correspondent for Middle East Eye from Sudan”

Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye also reported that in March 2026 the UK’s Labour government introduced a visa brake preventing any Sudanese student applications from outside the country, alongside nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon and Myanmar.

In a separate account, سـودانايل said the One World Media Award ceremony was scheduled to be held in London on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, and it claimed Amin was blocked despite an invitation that covered all expenses.

Dabanga Radio TV Online said Amin described the refusal as revealing “the behaviour of the British government towards the Sudan crisis, the Sudan war, and the violations taking place in Sudan as a whole,” and it added that the British Home Office had been approached for comment.