In this new report for the Center for International Media Assistance, Dr Mary Myers and Lina Yassin analyse media reform in Sudan, during the dramatic years 2019-21.
Following the ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Sudanese journalists enjoyed freedoms many had never experienced in their lifetimes. Systematic censorship came to an end, and the arrest, detention and harassment of journalists became rare.
This brief reform window came to an end in October 2021, when Sudan’s military seized power from its civilian partners in the country’s transitional government. Anti-coup protests were met with a deadly response from soldiers, and the government cut internet access and detained journalists along with civilian leaders of the transitional government. Mechanisms of control over media were restored.
Part of CIMA’s “Media Reform amid Political Upheaval” series, reviews Sudan’s media climate and examines the role of Sudan’s government, media, foreign donors, and international media assistance actors in attempting to foster change in a country that is among the most inhospitable environments in the world for independent media.
Though Sudan’s immediate democratic outlook remains grim, continued investments in the media sector will be essential for the country’s return to civilian rule.