Harassment of the media intensified at the start of 2018. Eighteen journalists, including the correspondents of foreign media, were arrested in January while covering opposition protests. An independent radio station was shut down, and two journalists were banned from practicing their profession for a year. Led by Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, Sudan’s regime is exceptionally hostile to press freedom and often resorts to harassment, censorship, seizures, closures, and Internet cuts. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) uses the most brutal methods to gag the media and silence dissent, shutting down independent and opposition newspapers such as Al-Tayar, Al-Jareeda, Al-Midan and Al-Watan, or confiscating entire issues as they come off the press. In response to the censorship, the print media have turned to social networks to circulate and publish their stories.