Sudan: Journos convicted for covering human rights violations
KHARTOUM: Judge Modather Al-Rasheed of the Khartoum press court on Wednesday, 6 July 2011, sentenced Fatima Ghazali, a journalist with the daily Al-Jarida, to a fine of 2,000 Sudanese pounds (€516) or one month in prison in case of refusal to pay. As Ghazali refused to pay the fine, she was immediately taken to Omdurman prison to begin serving her sentence.
The judge also sentenced Al-Jarida editor Saadeldin Ibrahim to a fine of 5,000 Sudanese pounds (€1,290) in connection with the same articles about human rights violations by the security forces.
Several journalists were able to attend the hearing. When Ghazali, Ibrahim and a third Al-Jarida journalist, Amal Habani, appeared in court on 30 June, Judge Rasheed banned the media from the courtroom. Habani is due to be tried on 14 July.