U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT BY MARK TONER, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON
December 16, 2016
Sudan: Closing Political Space and Media Crackdown
The United States is concerned about the Government of Sudan’s threatening rhetoric and the crackdown on Sudanese media in response to calls by Sudanese civil society for civil disobedience.
If protests do occur, we urge the Government to respond to protesters with restraint, and encourage Sudanese authorities to take all necessary steps to allow citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we encourage those exercising their fundamental rights to express their views to do so peacefully.
We also reiterate concerns expressed in U.S. Embassy Khartoum’s December 6 statement about the detention, apparently without charge, of a number of opposition political leaders and human rights advocates. We again urge Sudanese authorities to stop seizing newspapers and engaging in other forms of censorship of those who report on, or express, political views.