by Tatiana Repkova

The independent newspaper Al-Sudani has been shut down by Sudanese authorities, after the Sudanese justice minister complained of defamation, an executive of the daily said. The plates for the latest edition were confiscated on Wednesday night, Al-Sudani's Deputy Chief Editor Underdone Medani said.

He said the paper's directors were told it was being suspended indefinitely pending investigation of a complaint from Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi for defamation. A column in the newspaper, which has been the subject of several bans, called on Wednesday for the minister to resign over a money-laundering case being examined in the courts. AFP; http://somalinet.com/news/world/East%20Africa/10455; May 17, 2007