Court convicts leading journalist

A Sudanese court has ordered award-winning journalist Amal Habani to pay a fine or face jail time after a security officer accused her of obstructing him. Habani, winner of an Amnesty International prize for reporting on human rights in Sudan, was ordered to pay $1 430 or face four months' imprisonment. A report on the News24 site notes that the court found her guilty in a case filed by a security officer who accused her of preventing him from doing his job during the trial of three rights activists in March. ‘This is injustice. I was covering the trial when the security officer beat me,’ Habani reportedly told AFP. ‘When I complained against him, he filed a case against me. I will not pay the fine but rather go to jail.’ Her lawyer Ahmed Elshukri said he will file an appeal.