Khartoum Rhino – The Freedoms Secretariat of the Journalists Syndicate condemned the arrest of Al-Jarida newspaper journalist “Imtithal Abdel Fadil” last Saturday by the army military intelligence and kept her for three days in detention under the pretext of investigation, the syndicate said in a statement on Tuesday.

The syndicate said in a statement on Tuesday: “This arbitrary arrest and the repressive measures accompanying it represent a blatant violation of press freedom guaranteed by the constitution, laws and international treaties, and aims to intimidate journalists, muzzle free speech and undermine the role of the press.”

In its statement, the syndicate denounced what it described as the serious violations to which the journalist was subjected from the moment she was arrested at 5 a.m. on her way to Port Sudan, “including blindfolding her, arbitrarily searching her phone and personal accounts, detaining her for three days, and releasing her with an unjust pledge that restricts her movement and prevents her from leaving the city.”

The statement read: “The Freedoms Secretariat sees these measures as a blatant suppression of press freedom and an unjust violation of the law. Based on the above, we call on the responsible security authorities to immediately drop all undertakings and restrictions imposed on colleague Imtithal Abdel Fadil, and to guarantee her full right to practice her journalistic work freely and safely.”

The syndicate renewed its demand to stop all forms of harassment and violations against journalists, and to respect press freedom as a basic pillar of democracy and the public’s right to information.