Publisher: Darfur journalist held incommunicado

KHARTOUM, Sudan — The government detained a Darfur journalist working for a Sudanese daily two weeks ago and have held him incommunicado ever since, said the newspaper's publisher Saturday.

Nurredin Braima, 35, was detained on Oct. 11 after he translated comments from a displaced Darfurian woman into Arabic at a press conference for a visiting Qatari diplomat in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, said Salah Kajam, publisher of the daily Freedom Bells.

The comments were not known, but Kajam speculated the detention was part of a broader government crackdown against journalists and Darfurians to prevent them from speaking about the crisis.

"We believe they did not like the statement of the woman whatever she said and which he volunteered to translate in all honesty," said Kajam. "The sole crime of this man is that he helped a woman whose crime is that she does not speak Arabic."

There has been no contact with the journalist since the arrest and no charges filed, said Kajam.

A government official said Braima was detained for causing a commotion in the room during an official visit. The official did not provide further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

More than 2.5 million people have been displaced in Darfur and up to 300,000 killed since ethnic African groups rebelled against the Arab-dominated national government early in 2003.

Kajam said Braima is a member of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement, with which the paper is affiliated.

The SPLM partnered with the north to form a joint central government in 2005 after a peace deal ended a 21-year war between the two sides. But mistrust still runs deep between the two, and implementation of the peace deal has been sluggish.

Kajam said he decided not to print his daily on Thursday after security officials visited his print shop late the night before and removed seven articles and opinion pieces about Braima's arrest.

Sudan has around 30 independent daily papers. But national security concerns are often cited when acting against journalists, and the Darfur crisis remains a sensitive issue.