On March 18, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services confiscated the entire print run of Al Midan, the Sudanese Communist Party's newspaper. This was the third consecutive issue to be censored by the NISS.
The March 18 Sudan Tribune said: "Sudanese authorities routinely confiscate copies of newspapers as a punishment for publishing contents critical of the government. The measure is intended to inflict financial damage on the already hard-pressed papers."
The government accused Al Midan of ignoring orders not to cover the recent police shooting of a woman in a suburb of Khartoum. The incident occurred after police accused a man sitting outside his home of being drunk, which he denied. When his sister and mother joined the argument, police fired shots, killing the sister. Residents from the surrounding area flooded the streets in protest, targeting police stations before being tear-gassed.
The Sudanese parliament is set to introduce a new bill that activists fear will further restrict press freedom, giving the NISS greater powers to target online information sources.