“ Shari'a Law does not apply to the rich, only to the poor so as to force them to conform ” Anonymous.

The Minister of Justice and the Press

The Al Sudani newspaper was closed indefinitely after its lead columnist, Osman Mirghani wrote an article demanding that the Justice Minister step down. He accused the Minister of perjury before the court in a money laundering trial. The Minister had intervened and moved to dismiss charges, claiming that the motion had come from the defense (No other details are available). The editor-in-chief Mahjoub Erwa, and Mirghani were arrested and held in custody several days. Newspaper staff appealed to the Ministry to alter his decision. But instead, the Minister filed a suite against the paper charging defamation of character. During the 1994 state of emergency Al Sudani was banned, and only reauthorized to print in 2006. After investigating the assassination of journalist Mohammed Taha, editor of Al Wifaq , and again for criticizing Beshir's refusal to allow the deployment of UN troops, it was again briefly shut down in February of this year . More than one hundred journalists, politicians and lawyers staged a massive 24 hour sit-down protest in front of the Al Sudani building. They demanded an independent body to take charge of the paper and chose a select delegation to plead their case before the National Press Council. Members of the Council have called for the annulment of Article 130 of the Criminal Procedure Law which sanctions “the absence of confidentiality in investigations”. The Government of Sudan used the law when previously suspending the newspaper. The National Congress Party's Media and Communications Commission came forth to declare a willingness to assure the liberty of the press ( AFP, Reuter 17 05, AP 19 05, Sudan Tribune 21 05, 23 05 ). The Al Sudani reopened its doors.

The Mohammed Taha Murder Trial : The lawyer representing the 19 accused affirmed the not guilty plea stating that the accused had been tortured in order to obtain confessions (Reuter 04 07).

The Press and the Kajbar Dam : The Kajbar dam is to be constructed on the Third Cataract on the River Nile north of the Fourth Cataract. It is reported that the dam, to be built by the Chinese, would flood an area containing 30 Nubian villages thus driving out inhabitants. Local people are irate. On 13 June a demonstration against the building of Kajbar Dam took place. . During the peaceful protest four individuals were killed by the police, eight others wounded and twenty protesters arrested. In concert with villagers living near the Fourth Cataract, citizens complain of neglect and discrimination on the part of the government. Four journalists covering the story and traveling to the dam site were apprehended. All were employed by Khartoum-based independent daily newspapers Al Sudani , Al Ayam , opposition paper Al Raai el Shaab and the Islamist Al Wan . Groups called for their immediate release, angered by, “the flagrant violation of the interim constitution, national press laws, numerous international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. According to Amnesty International , two lawyers and a university professor were also detained, while Reuter claimed the number of lawyers was four. The journalists, held incommunicado for a week, were the only ones to be freed. The Security Services questioned them about their political views, and confiscated their mobiles and camera equipment. Authorities claimed that the dam's feasibility study had been approved, but others said that a study was never done. Meanwhile the police reported that protestors had purposefully demolished construction equipment (AFP 14 06, Reuter 19/20 06). On June 23, a journalist and a man employed by one of the newspapers were arrested, most likely in an incident liked to the protest. (Reuter 23 06).