South Sudanese media blocked after threats from NSS

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Yet another South Sudanese media site blocked, despite government officials claiming that Internet blocking is not implemented in the country.

Blocking takes places after personal threats from the National Security Service to the editor of Sudans Post and the Sudanese hosting provider

Qurium circumvents the blocking of three blocked South Sudanese news sites by means of Bifrost.

Sudans Post – a small grass roots news media focusing on South Sudan – received personal threats from the National Security Service after a series of articles related to the popular and wealthy Sudanese business women Achai Wiir, allegedly plotting to kill her own husband. Both the editor of the news site and its former hosting provider received threats, with the aim to remove the content and to reveal the identify of the editor.

Although the content was removed, Sudans Post was blocked by the authorities the following day. The site is currently only reachable from IP addresses belonging to the ministries, the presidential palace, the National Security Service and a few large international NGOs.

Qurium sees a worrying trend of blocking media websites in South Sudan. The blocking is done with no transparency or accountability, no measures to appeal, no legal process and implemented silently by the upstream providers. To circumvent the blocking of South Sudanese news sites and to prevent digital attacks against them, Qurium is hosting and providing mirrors to no less than three blocked media organizations: Sudans Post, Nyamilepedia, and PaanLuel Wel.