Sudan Suspends Three Arabic News Channels

The Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information issued a decision to stop the work of Al-Arabiya, Al-Hadath, and Sky News channels in Sudan.

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The concerned broadcasters are two Saudi Arabia state-owned channels, Al Arabiya and Al Hadath and the UAE-owned channel Sky News Arabia.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Information, the ban is due to the mentioned channels’ lack of transparency and professionalism, in addition to their failure to renew the required broadcast license.

A statement issued by the Ministry on Tuesday explained that the three channels had been stopped, and the relevant authorities had been directed to take the necessary measures and put the decision into effect.

Al-Arabiya channel quoted the director of its office in Sudan, Lina Yaqoub, as saying that she had not been officially informed of the decision of the banning of the channel’s work in the country, precising that she and all of the Sudan-based staff were surprised to hear the decision on state TV. She said: “We do not know the timing of the implementation of the Minister of Information’s decision to stop our work.”

Lina Yaqoub also added: “We reject the accusations that we are unprofessional, and we have been in the war since its beginning.”

She also confirmed that the Al Arabiya and Al Hadath offices in Sudan renew their licenses periodically.

Minister Graham Abdel Gader’s statement stated that the suspension of Sky News Arabia is due to “harmful publishing,” while the two other channels, Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, did not renew their licenses.

In a separate statement about Sky News Arabia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized it for broadcasting an unrelated Euronews video about the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, presenting it as footage from Sudan. The ministry also said the report relied on a newspaper affiliated with the militant Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sky News Arabia defended the report’s accuracy but acknowledged the use of archived footage.

The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemned the ban of the work of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath and Sky News Arabia and described it as a violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.