A journalist conditionally freed

Edward Ladu Terso, of the daily Khartoum Monitor, who was arrested on 11 March, was conditionally freed on 29 March. He said he had not been badly treated but had been threatened by state security officials, who said he would be rearrested if he criticised the government again. ________________________________________________________________ 18 March 2003 Journalist detained by state security police for a week Reporters Without Borders called today for the immediate release of Khartoum Monitor journalist Edward Ladu Terso, who has been detained without explanation by state security police since 11 March. "He appears to have been simply doing his job," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard. "The authorities have not accused him of any offence. We deplore the security service's relentless pursuit of the paper, an issue of which was recently seized.." State security officials told the newspaper on 15 March that Terso, who writes a column called "I just cannot understand it," had been sent to Kober prison. The next day, the prosecutor-general's office said the political section of the state security service was holding him. The paper said Terso, who has worked for Khartoum Monitor since 2000, had no political affiliation. The authorities seized copies of the paper at the printers on 9 March and later that day publisher Nhial Bol and Terso were summoned for questioning by state security police. The next day, they said the issue had been seized because of an article by Terso that said the history of Islam in Sudan had not always been peaceful.