The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR has called on Sudanese authorities to stop targeting journalists and desist from using force against protesters.

The UN Rights Office said the clampdown on freedom of opinion and expression appeared to be increasing through arrests of journalists, home and office raids and searches, ill treatment of journalists and suspension of licences.

Spokesperson for the office Ravina Shamdasani at a news conference in Geneva advised the Sudanese authorities to stop targeting journalists, to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fully respected.

She stressed that authorities should ensure that peaceful protests were facilitated rather than met with unnecessary and disproportionate force.

The Spokesperson also listed several recent incidents targeting the press, noting that this past Saturday, the authorities revoked the broadcasting licence of Aljazeera Live, the Arabic-language news and events channel that is part of the Aljazeera Media Network.