2.3. Journalists and other media personnel

2.3.1. Legal framework

The environment for media outlets and journalists remains highly restrictive, despite the constitutional guarantees of freedom of press and access to information under the provisional constitution adopted in 2019.340 Over time, repressive laws restricted press freedom and information access. The Press and Publications Act (2009) granted greater control to the National Council for Press over publications, while the Publication and the National Security Act (2010) criminalised the publication of content that ‘threatens public peace’ or ‘weakens state prestige’.341

The Cybercrime Law, enacted in 2018 and amended in 2020, imposed severe penalties, including prison sentences, for many activities carried out online. Article 24 of the amended law raised the maximum prison sentence from one to four years, or flogging, or both, if a citizen publishes ‘false news or reports via the Internet, communications, or any information means or applications, threatening public peace or tranquility, or insulting the prestige of the state’. In addition, Article 21 of the amended law grants the authorities broad discretion to impose penalties under vaguely worded provisions. Under this Article, ‘anyone who publishes ideas, programs, sayings, or acts “contrary to public order and morals” via the Internet or any other means will be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or flogging or both’.342 In October 2025, the newly elected government approved further amendments to the law:343 Investigations into ‘information crimes’ no longer required a warrant from a judge. The revised law imposed financial penalties of up to 10 million SDG [equal to around EUR 24] and prison sentences of up to ten years344 for offences related to the use of social media and online reporting.345

In SAF-controlled areas, journalists were required to obtain weekly authorisations from the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and the Press and Publications Council. This measure was perceived as coercive, and journalists feared denial of authorisation renewals when covering topics considered to be sensitive or controversial by authorities.346