The first days of 2022 saw the final collapse of the already tenuous political agreement that reinstated Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok after a period of house arrest following the military coup d’état of October 25 last year.
On January 2, PM Hamdok announced his resignation in a televised address to the Sudanese people. Hamdok underlined that he was unable to combine all the components of the transition to reach a unified vision, describing the crisis in the country as political, but it gradually, includes all aspects of economic and social life.
The increasing pressure, violence and prosecution faced by journalists at the hands of security forces represent a major threat to the future of press freedom in the country.
It’s not just Al Jazeera: Sudan’s military-controlled government has targeted journalists and media outlets since the army seized power in October 2021.
The Sudanese newspaper El Hadatha announced on Saturday that it will cease publication because of the increasing suppression of the media. The US Embassy in Khartoum has denounced the closure of the Al Jazeera Live channel by the Ministry of Information on Saturday. Journalists say that the withdrawal of the channel's license is unlawful.