Status: Not Free
Legal Environment: 26 (of 30)
Political Environment: 29 (of 40)
Economic Environment: 23 (of 30)
Total Score: 78 (of 100)
(Lower scores = freer)

Despite the ongoing conflict in Darfur and the failed attempts to broker peace between the government of Sudan and the Darfuri rebel movements, the media environment remained relatively stable during 2007, marked by a freer environment and less violence against journalists in the southern part of the country. The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, which ended the civil war between the north and the south, initiated a process of constitutional reform that brought about some positive changes for the media, such as the lifting of official censorship and an interim constitution that provides for freedom of thought and of expression. However, these rights are not respected in practice, and Sudanese authorities continue to use arbitrary measures to limit press freedom. One way that authorities control the media is through the government-influenced National Press Council, which is responsible for licensing and has the power to suspend journalists and newspapers. Restrictions on covering the Darfur region continued in 2007 with a ban in March on coverage of the prosecution of crimes committed in Darfur, and a ban in May on publishing information on Darfuri rebel activities. Draft media laws on freedom of information, public service broadcasting, and the establishment of new print and broadcast regulators are in the early stages of review, although press freedom advocacy groups have expressed concerns about the absence of discussion during the drafting process and restrictive provisions that would allow for continued government control over the media.

Throughout 2007, journalists faced harassment, attacks, intimidation, and direct censorship at the hands of both government and nongovernmental forces. Among other instances of harassment, on February 1, authorities closed the private Arabic-language daily Al-Sudani for several days due to coverage of the murder of Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed, the former editor-in-chief of the private daily Al-Wifaq who was beheaded in 2006, which violated a ban on covering the case. In May, the minister of justice charged Al-Sudani with defamation following an editorial calling for the minister's resignation due to corruption allegations, and detained the paper's editor along with another journalist for several days. In June, authorities detained four journalists with private Khartoum-based papers for attempting to report on protests against the Kajbar Dam in the northern Nubian region, and several journalists working for the private Al-Midan and Al-Sahafa newspapers received death threats in December for reporting on the Darfur conflict. Authorities continued to limit the foreign media's coverage of Darfur, and in April, BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher left the country following an expulsion order that was issued in March for his coverage of the region.

There are many private newspapers in Sudan – though none are currently able to function regularly in Darfur – and private ownership is common. Although most newspapers experienced intense scrutiny from authorities, they represented a wide range of views, from state-owned Arabic and English outlets, to those that represent a southern Sudanese perspective, to critical opposition publications. Some private papers employ columnists that regularly criticize President Omar al-Bashir's policies. In late 2007, the country's first free newspaper, Al-Hadath, was launched in Khartoum, and while it has since changed its business model due to distribution problems, it managed to obtain a significant share of the market. The al-Bashir administration in Khartoum runs one Arabic- and one English-language newspaper. In contrast to the more diverse press, the government dominates the broadcast media, the main source of information for much of Sudan's population. Television broadcasts are formally censored, and radio content is required to reflect the government's views. However, Arabic satellite channels such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are popular in Sudan and are increasingly relied upon as an alternative to the progovernment domestic television and radio stations. In addition, some foreign radio stations are available, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, which broadcasts in Khartoum and other points in the north and south, as well as several opposition and clandestine stations available via shortwave frequencies.

Internet penetration in Sudan is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, with just under nine percent of the population able to access this medium in 2007. However, internet access is limited to urban areas, and is still low by global standards. The government has not traditionally displayed much interest in censoring this new medium, apart from the blocking of pornographic content and proxy servers, and there were generally no restrictions on access to news websites. Political debates flourished on forums such as sudaneseonline.com, sudaneseoffline.com and sudanile.com, which are also highly popular among the Sudanese diaspora. However, there were reports that the government monitored email activity.

Press freedom conditions in southern Sudan are better than in areas controlled directly by Khartoum. Journalists in the south are not as restricted as those in the north and have more leeway to criticize government policies. There were reports, however, that the editor of the Juba-based English-language newspaper Citizen was detained for a day due to the paper's coverage of an alleged corruption scandal within the finance ministry. In addition, many Sudanese from the south displaced by the civil war still remain in the more populous north of the country, and most facilities for the production and distribution of media content are concentrated in Khartoum.

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