KHARTOUM – The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate called for the immediate disclosure of the fate of five journalists it said remain forcibly disappeared, warning that their prolonged disappearance poses serious risks to their lives and safety.
In a statement marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the syndicate said the missing journalists are Ashraf Al-Hibir, forcibly disappeared from Omdurman since November 2024, and Mustafa Fadl Al-Mawla, known as Abu Quta, director general of the Central Darfur Radio and Television Authority, missing since September 25, 2025.
The syndicate also named photojournalist Majdi Yousif Al-Zein, Mohamed Hussein Shalabi and journalist Musab Al-Hadi, who it said have been missing since October 2025, with no clear information about their fate or whereabouts.
The syndicate expressed deep concern over the continued disappearance of the five journalists for months, saying the absence of reliable information increases fears for their physical and psychological safety.
It said enforced disappearance during Sudan’s war, amid widespread violence, hate speech and disinformation, increases the dangers facing those missing and helps create an environment of impunity.
The statement comes as Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), continues to endanger journalists and media workers across the country. Reporters have faced detention, threats, attacks, displacement and restrictions on movement and access to information.
Press freedom groups have repeatedly warned that Sudan’s conflict has made independent reporting increasingly dangerous, while the disappearance or detention of journalists deprives the public of information during one of the country’s gravest crises.
The syndicate said enforced disappearance is a compound violation of basic rights because it deprives a person of liberty and security, places them outside the protection of the law and denies their families the right to know their fate and whereabouts.
It called for the immediate disclosure of the five journalists’ locations, a serious and independent investigation into the circumstances of their disappearance, and their unconditional release unless specific charges are brought against them under the law.
The syndicate also demanded guarantees for their safety and access to their families and lawyers if they are in detention.
It urged the United Nations, international and regional human rights organizations and press freedom groups to act urgently to uncover the fate of the missing journalists and pressure the parties to the conflict to ensure their safety.
The syndicate said journalists are not parties to the war, and that journalism and expression of opinion cannot justify detention, disappearance or retaliation.
It warned that targeting journalists is also an attack on society’s right to know and on public access to information and truth.
The syndicate renewed its appeal to all parties to the war to reveal the whereabouts of the missing journalists and allow their families to reach them, saying every day without answers deepens the suffering of their families and the responsibility of those with information about them.
