Authorities continue to keep a watchful eye on independent-minded journalists.
They invoked the restrictive 1993 Press and Publications Law when they deemed the reporting to be too critical. The newspaper had been hit with a two-week publication suspension in May after publishing an article on a prison riot south of the capital, Khartoum. In December, the Sudanese parliament passed a revised press law that imposed further constraints on the press. In addition to the existing ban on coverage of the army and national security issues, the new law also prohibits reporting on the national police. Newspapers in violation of the new law risk a two-month closure or even the permanent cancellation of their operating licenses.