Alfred Taban

Alfred Taban Logune (born 1957, Kajokeji) is a South Sudanese broadcast journalist. He is a former BBC's correspondent in Khartoum. He is the founder and editor in chief of the Juba Monitor, the leading independent newspaper in South Sudan, formerly known as Khartoum Monitor the 1st independent English-Language Newspaper in the Sudan. Taban is also the current Chairman of The Association for Media Development in South Sudan AMDISS. [1]

Having trained as a laboratory technician, Taban embarked on a career in journalism, a vocation that in Sudan is subject to constant government intimidation. He was detained by the authorities for 5 days in April 2001 while covering a news conference by church leaders in Khartoum, who were protesting against the cancellation of a service and the arrest of up to one hundred Christians.[2] On another occasion, the Sudanese police forced Taban to stand for twelve hours chanting "I am a liar, I am a liar".

In July 2005, Speaker of the British House of Commons Michael Martin presented the Speaker Abbot award to Alfred Taban, in recognition of his work exposing the slaughter in Darfur. This award is awarded to the journalist who has made the greatest contribution internationally to the "protection, promotion and perpetuation of parliamentary democracy".[3] In 2006, Taban was one of three recipients to be presented with the National Endowment for Democracy award by US President George W. Bush.[1]

On 30 October 2006, Taban was summoned and stated that he was liable for the content of a newspaper article dated 14 September 2006, which claimed that foreign minister, state minister for foreign affairs and the director of information and public relations, Lam Akol, are mouthpieces and perpetrators of genocide as well as Islamic extremists etc. It was argued that the article was general criticism and personal opinion of its author. The committee made, concerning this article, the following decision: The article contained inappropriate phrases and was published by a political newspaper read by broad sectors of society, and it also contained clear violations of legal determinants as well as exceeding the proper bounds of public criticism given that the present time requires selectivity with respect to topics and phrases. In addition to the published reprimand a penalty was imposed.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 National Endowment for Democracy, 2006 Democracy Award
  2. ↑ UNHCR, 3 May 2002, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2002 - Sudan, accessed 8 July 2009
  3. ↑ Abbot Award
  4. ↑ Sudan Tribune, 31 October 2006, Khartoum Monitor reprimanded after complaint by Foreign Ministry


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