Since protests started in December 2018, authorities imposed even more restrictions on media, seized and confiscated newspapers, arrested journalists covering protests, shut down their offices, and blocked access to the internet.
Nine journalists were briefly arrested on December 26 by the NISS while gathered outside the headquarters of the independent Sudanese newspaper Al-Tayar in protest against harassment of the media. Many other journalists were arrested while covering protests or during journalists strikes. In late December, authorities restricted access to social media for several days.
On December 25, authorities blocked London-based al-Araby TV journalists from covering the protests and deported them. On January 22, authorities revoked permits of reporters working with Al Jazeera, al-Arabiya and Anadolu news agency.
On February 22, NISS officials arrested the editor-in-chief of Al-Tayar, after he appeared on TV criticizing al-Bashir’s emergency declaration. He was released on March 30 without charge.
After al-Bashir’s ouster, authorities allowed media coverage of protests for several weeks, but on May 31, they shut down Al Jazeera offices. Authorities sought to suppress information about the June 3 violence by restricting media access to the country, by cutting off completely cutting internet access on June 10 for over a month.