LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to “immediately release” three female journalists and “stop arbitrarily detaining members of the press,” as the country’s war continues to impose a near-total shutdown on independent reporting.
Mawaheb Ibrahim and Zahraa Muhammad Al-Hassan, both reporters at Nyala State Radio, and Ishraqah Abdulrahman, a presenter and host at the station, have been held in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, since Feb. 28.
“Journalists in Sudan are already working under extremely dangerous conditions amid a devastating war, and detaining reporters only further restricts the flow of information from a conflict that remains severely underreported,” said Sara Qudah, the CPJ’s regional director, on Monday.
Members of the RSF arrested the three women after they attended a workshop for female journalists in Nyala, detaining them alongside several other women and transferring them to Korea Prison.
They remain held without formal charges, no clear justification for their arrest, or having had any court appearance, according to a local journalist following the case, who spoke to the CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
