Reuters said in an emailed statement that “we are actively seeking additional information about the situation.” In its news story on the arrests, Reuters did not identify Mr. Abdelaziz by name and described him as a stringer, a term that refers to a local journalist who works for a news organization that is based elsewhere. Idris Ali was unreachable after the protest and authorities informed AFP on Thursday that he had been arrested along with two other journalists, including one working for international news agency Reuters, and was being held at a detention centre run by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Authorities initially said Idris Ali would be released within hours but as of late Thursday, more than 24 hours after he was detained, the reporter was still being held. Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali, 51, of AFP and at least two other journalists, one a Reuters Sudanese stringer, were taken away by authorities Wednesday as they reported on a demonstration against rising food prices. "By arresting and intimidating journalists, confiscating newspapers and attempting to censor news dissemination, the Sudanese authorities keep trying to get journalists to stick to the official narrative or pay the price," CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Sherif Mansour said in the statement.
Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service arrests 7 journalists who were covering this week's economic protests in Khartoum. The charges are unclear.