Spy trials against journalists in Sudan are planned to scare foreign countries away from involvement in Darfur

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) accused Sudan on Monday with trying to exercise pressure on the international community by arbitrary spy trials against journalists and thus to prevent the sending of a UN peace-keeping force to Darfur. "Sudan is de facto turning foreign journalists into hostages to prevent effective measures for the ending of the genocide in West Sudan”, warned the GfbV Africa expert, Ulrich Delius. "Apart from that these arbitrary trials are an attack on the freedom of the press in the world.” The Security Council will be making a decision today, Monday, on the stationing of a UN peace-keeping force in the West of Sudan, which is being called for mainly by the USA and Great Britain.

Last Saturday Paul Salopek, a US journalist for the magazine "National Geographic” was charged in Sudan with spying. Similar charges were made against Tomo Kriznar, a photo reporter and adviser of the Slovenian President, Janez Drnovsek, who has been striving for a peace settlement in Darfur. He was sentenced on 14th August 2006 to two years’ imprisonment. They were both charged in addition with travelling illegally to Darfur without a visa and with spreading false information.

"This is the charge made by the Sudanese authorities concerning all reports on violations of human rights, expulsion and genocide”, said Delius. On account of the massive restrictions laid on foreign journalists on entry to Darfur and their reporting thereon, it is Sudan itself which forces many reporters to enter illegally, since legally it is virtually impossible to guarantee trustworthy reporti