Sudan forces seize 2 newspapers

Sudanese security forces have confiscated the Sunday editions of two newspapers, editors said, the latest in a crackdown that has hobbled the country’s independent media. Authorities confiscated copies of the independent Al Sahafa, one of Sudan’s oldest dailies, after it had been printed, the newspaper’s editor Alnoor Ahmed Alnoor said. “We consider the confiscation to be equal to an economic penalty on the newspaper,” he said, adding the authorities did not give a reason for the seizure.     A security agent also went to the printing house of the Al Jarida newspaper after midnight and banned it from publishing, managing editor Idris Al Douma said. “They confiscated every copy of the paper,” he said. He too said he was not given a reason why the papers were seized.     The security agency did not issue any immediate statement. The National Press Council, which is in charge of licensing newspapers, could not be immediately reached for comment.     The UN expert on human rights in Sudan, Mashood Adebayo Baderin, in June  highlighted concerns about Sudanese press freedom. (gulf today)