Two Al-Jazeera journalists hit while covering an anti-American demonstration

On 22 March, while covering a demonstration against the war in Iraq, Islam Salih, an Al-Jazeera journalist and Mohammed el Hassan, his cameraman, were hit by several policemen. 'We expressly call on the Khartoum authorities to allow the Sudanese and also the foreign press to freely cover demonstrations taking place in the capital. We are also concerned by the growing number of journalists being summoned for having'transgressed the limits', said Robert Ménard, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders. On 22 March, Islam Salih, an Al Jazeera journalist and Mohammed el Hassan, his cameraman, were hit by several policemen while covering a student demonstration, near the American embassy, against the war in Iraq. Although Islam Salih told one of the policemen he was an Al-Jazeera journalist, they continued to hit them on the knees with truncheons. The cameraman finally managed to flee with his equipment. And the footage could be broadcast. Also, on the same day, Hayder Al Mukashfi, a journalist at the daily Al-Ayyam, was interrogated by members of the security services. One of the officers told him that 'what he was writing 'transgressed the limits. For the time being, we are at the stage where we advise you to change what you have written' Hayder Al Mukashfi writes the 'Transparency' column.