A/HRC/27/69 G. Continued press censorship 56. Direct closure of newspaper houses by government security agents declined relatively during the reporting period. It was confirmed that only one newspaper, Al-Sayha, remained suspended as at June 2014. The Independent Expert raised this with the National Intelligence and Security Service during his mission in June and the suspension was subsequently lifted on 23 June. 57. The Sudanese Constitutional Court declared in March 2014 that a National Intelligence and Security Service order that had suspended the Al-Tayyar newspaper since June 2012 was illegal, and thus revoked the order. In the same month, the Sudanese Court of Intellectual Property acquitted a reporter from the Al-Sudani newspaper on charges of “harming the morale of the armed forces”, brought against him for critiquing activities of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a newspaper article. 58. Despite those commendable judicial decisions, post-publication censorship continued unabated and government security agents seized printed newspapers for allegedly crossing publication “red lines” set by the National Intelligence and Security Service. Between March and June 2014 printed editions of different newspapers, such as The Citizen, Al-Hurra, Al-Sudani, Al-Watan, Al-Youm Al-Tali, Al-Jareeda and Al-Aswaq, were confiscated by government security agents without them stating specific reasons. Also, some journalists have been banned permanently by the Service from writing. Such press censorship continues to create fear of arrest for journalists and publishers, which consequently impedes on press freedom and the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the Sudan. 59. As the guarantee of press freedom is essential for facilitating the national dialogue proposed by the Government, the Independent Expert urges the Government to ensure that its security agents stop press intimidation to enable a conducive environment for the national dialogue and ensure a vibrant constitutional and political process for the country. H. National Security Act of 2010 60. The National Security Act of 2010 continues to be an enabling legislation for the National Intelligence and Security Service to encroach on civil and political rights in the Sudan. The Act empowers security officers to detain individuals for a maximum period of four and half months without judicial authority,4 which is often used to justify the detention of individuals by the Service. To ensure that the Service operates in compliance with the human rights obligations of the Sudan, the Government should either revoke or amend the Act to bring it into conformity with the country’s constitutional and international human rights obligations. I. Escalation of armed conflicts and increase in civilian displacements 61. There was a significant upsurge in armed conflicts perpetrated by both State and non-State actors in the conflict areas during the reporting period, leading to further displacement of civilians in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States, particularly between February and June 2014. This contributed to the deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in conflict areas. The activities of rebel movements and the response of government forces, particularly the Rapid Support Force, led to many human 4 See National Security Act (2010), art. 50, para. 1 (c), (f), (g) and (h). 15