Sudan security agents seize newspaper

Sudanese security agents confiscated all copies of the Tuesday edition of a newspaper seen as close to the government, its editor said, the latest such seizure in a country criticised for media restrictions.

On Monday night, "after the printing finished for the Tuesday edition, members of the security apparatus came to the printer and seized all copies" of Al-Sudani without giving reasons, the daily's chief editor Dia al-din Bilal told AFP.

Journalists in Sudan complain of harassment from the authorities and the country regularly ranks near the bottom of international press freedom indexes.

The powerful National Intelligence and Security Service often confiscates entire print runs of newspapers over articles that it deems to be offensive, rarely explaining why.

Bilal said the last time his newspaper was seized was five months ago. "We have become more careful about the material we publish and despite no seizures for five months, it has happened again," he said. 

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