• Overview

 

Ousted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir mocked protesters’ use of social media, saying in a speech on January 31, 2019, that “Governments and presidents cannot be changed through Whatsapp and Facebook,” and al-Bashir tried to downplay citizens’ social media activity, trying to go on with his dictatorial rule that he built on the corpses of Sudanese people in Kordofan, Darfur, and Nubia Mountains.

Al-Bashir and his government tried early on to control the Internet and social media through police pursuits, the enactment of absurd laws, unfair trials, and the control of traditional media. But he failed to achieve this complete control, and his removal and arrest came on April 11, 2019, culminating in citizens’perseverance for nearly four months of peaceful street protests and the exchange of news and views through social media. Activists succeeded in spreading the truth and gaining support for peaceful demonstrations by publishing and exchanging thousands of photos and videos of demonstrators, attacking Al-Bashir’s forces, and portraying victims’ families’ feelings on social media.

The demonstrations began on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, in the city of ‘Abra, Nile State, to condemn the rise in commodity prices, the scarcity of many commodities and the devaluation of the Sudanese currency. The demonstrations spread to the cities of Damer, Berber, Al-Matma, and Shendi, followed by Dehira and Khartoum, and then followed by other Sudanese cities.

 

  • Developments in the ICT sector

 

Since 2017, Sudan has sought to develop the telecommunications sector at a rapid pace, following the lifting of some US sanctions that were imposed since 1997 when Sudan hosted fugitives, including al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. In 2017, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) sought to complete the launch of 4G services from all telecommunications companies. In cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Interior and telecommunications companies, TRA has initiated a chip registration project which has been linked to the civil registration system to verify the user’s identity through their national ID.

On July 3, 2018, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Sudan issued special regulations for the control and security of the provision of certification, registration, and electronic signature services. Following the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir, on August 15, 2019, the Transitional Military Council issued a decision to subordinate the Communications Regulatory Authority to the Ministry of Defense. After the formation of the Sovereign Council, the President of the sovereign Council on September 16 of the same year passed a decree abolishing Military Council resolution No. 358 of 2019, which called for the dissolution of the Department of Communications and Post Organization, and the subordination of the body was transferred to the sovereignty Council.[1]

Sudan’s population is estimated at approximately 42 million. The mobile communications sector is serviced by three companies, Zain, MTN, and Sudani company. The number of registered mobile phone users reaches around 30 million users, with about 71%, Zain company has approximately 49% of the market, and MTN acquires about 27%, while Sudani company acquires around 24% of the market. Concerning landline subscriptions, the number of subscribers increased to about 137.2 thousand users, and the company of Kenar acquires around 34% of the market in Sudan.[2]

 

  • The legal environment of the ICT sector

Omar al-Bashir and his government have sought to muzzle and control the Internet through some legislation or by amending the constitution, during which time the Sudanese National Council (parliament) passed on April 25, 2017, some controversial amendments to the country’s 2005 interim constitution. The amendments to the National Security and Intelligence Service have preserved wide powers granted to them in 2015, as it gave to the Security Authority the right to violate privacy under the pretext of protecting national security.

On June 10, 2018, the National Council passed the Anti Cybercrime Bill of 2018, in the first reading phase, using broad terms that restrict freedom of expression and online publishing, enabling the government to control social media and online newspapers. The Act provides for a provision which shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, by whipping or by a fine: Anyone who uses the information network, telecommunications, or any means of information, communication or applications to publish any news, publicity or report with knowledge of its incorrectness, thereby causing fear or panic to the public and threatening public safety and reducing the status of the State. The National Council also passed the Telecommunication and Mail Act 2018, which is an alternative to the Telecommunications Act of 2001, changing the of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to be Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the Post.

 

  • Social Networks

The Sudanese fled from the siege of Al-Bashir’s government on traditional media to social media, to gain access to information, to learn about different opinions, and to make social media a window open to activists and human rights defenders to reach out to the public, as social media activists revealed many important incidents and events. The government of al-Bashir has worked to hunt down activists and spread so-called electronic flies to discredit opponents. The number of Internet users reached about 13.7 million users. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information estimates the number of Facebook users at about 7 million, while the number of Twitter users is estimated at around250 thousand.

 

  • Blocking and censorship

The Sudanese Telecommunications and Mail Organization operates an effective and declared system of blocking and monitoring websites without judicial rulings. The blocking system depends on technology and devices that contain programs to filter the information received, according to lists of the addresses of websites to be blocked. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announces its readiness to receive requests to block websites from Internet users on its email. During the revolution, the Sudanese authorities kept the Internet completely or partially blocked. Social media have also been blocked several times of peaceful protests and demonstrations or to prevent the circulation of scenes of crimes committed by the security forces against demonstrators during this period:

  • On December 20, 2018, Social Media suddenly stopped working in Sudan, Zain’s subscribers, especially encountered difficulties with instant messaging on mobile phones, and access to social media websites to reduce news and photos of protests that erupted on December 19 because of the high prices and deteriorating economic conditions. The Internet continued to be partially cut and did not come back until al-Bashir was deposed on April 11, 2019.
  • In coincidence with the execution of a large-scale bloody attack by the government forces on the sit-in in front of the general command headquarters, known as “the general command massacre” on 3 June 2019, the military Council ordered the internet cut off from the mobile phones.
  • On June 10, 2019, the council ordered the cut-off of landline Internet access lines to become a “semi-complete” outage in Sudan. On June 11, Transitional Military Council spokesman Shams al-Din Kabashi said the Internet service would not return for the time being, claiming that the Internet constitutes a “threat to national security.” The Internet outage continued until the Military Council agreed to return on July 10, after a court ruling that he had returned.

 

  • Persecution and security threats

The government of Omar al-Bashir has taken the approach of arrests, prosecutions and interrogations against website journalists and social media activists inside and outside Sudan, to curb Internet freedom, silence critical voices, and encourage self-censorship. During this period, Al-Bashir government committed numerous violations against online journalists and social media activists, for example:

Sudanese Congress Party leader imprisoned for a message on Whatsapp

On July 20, 2017, the Criminal Court of Umm Rawaba sentenced the head of the opposing Sudanese Congress Party branch in the city, and Central Council member Hatem Mirghani Abdel Rahman, to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 Sudanese pounds (approximately $4400) for a complaint by the mandatory service coordinator in Umm Rawaba, accusing him of “defamation”. Against the background of a message on Whatsapp concerning the corruption of the ruling “National Conference party.”

 

Journalist Alaa Eddin Mahmoud was prevented from traveling because of news in an online newspaper

 

Authorities at Khartoum airport prevented journalist Alaa al-Din Mahmoud, who works in the Gulf newspaper in the UAE, from traveling on 30 October 2017, because of an order issued by the Information Prosecution until he appears before it, in a communiqué filed against him by the White Nile state government, accusing him of “discrediting” the State Minister of Culture and Information, on the background of news published by the online newspaper (Hose Post).

 

Activist Mohsen Moussa Mahmoud detained

Members of the local police, accompanied by plainclothes members of the National Security Service, arrested on the evening of April 12, 2018, activist Mohsen Musa Mahmoud, 28, from his family’s home in the Kadkali neighborhood of Hagar al Nar,  detaining him at the central police station of Kadqli. He has been interrogated the same night, in a report by governor Issa Abkar who accused him of defamation, after publishing posts on his Facebook account criticizing the government’s performance in providing health services, electricity, and water in the city, in addition to the high price wave and long lines of people waiting for gas, in addition to his criticisms of the governor’s involvement in the gold trade and participation in looting the state’s wealth.

 

Blogger Hisham Ali Mohamed Ali arrested

Saudi authorities handed Sudanese activist and blogger Hisham Ali Mohamed Ali, known as Hisham Wad Kalba, to the Security and Intelligence Service in Sudan. Hisham Ali Mohamed Ali arrived in Sudan on the morning of May 29, 2018, he was arrested on November 18, 2017, by Saudi authorities, at the demand of the security services in the Sudanese embassy because of his activity on social media. He remained in the prison of Al-Dhaban until he was deported. Hisham has been working as an independent accountant in Saudi Arabia, where he has migrated for work since 2010. He writes articles for several online forums to expose government corruption in Sudan.

 

Activist Ahmed Al-Dai detained

Members of the security and intelligence services arrested social media activist Ahmed al-Dai Bishara Gouda from his home in Omdurman on July 16, 2018, he was prevented from contacting his lawyer and prevented him from reaching out to his family, because he published a video criticizing Bashir’s visit to Moscow by private plane to attend the final match of the Mundial, while the Sudanese people are suffering from a terrible economic deterioration. Ahmed al-Dai was detained until he was released on September 18, 2018.

 

Dismissing Heba Mekawy from work on the background of a Facebook post

Sudanese authorities dismissed Heba Mekawy a broadcaster in the news department at national radio on 2nd May 2019 on the background of a Facebook post on her account in which she called for stopping figures of Beshir’s regime from controlling media.

 

British ambassador summoned to protest against tweets

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador in Khartoum on 12 June 2019 to protest against tweets written by the British ambassador Arfan Siddiq, after the Sudanese security forces dispersed the sit-in in front of the army general command headquarters, saying “there is no justification for such an attack. That must stop now,” the foreign ministry’s spokesman said, “the ambassador’s repeated tweets run counter to “established diplomatic norms.”

[1]                                Sudan Tribune, “the sovereignty Council cancels the decision to subordinate the communications apparatus to the Ministry of Defense,” September 19, 2019, and the date of the visit December 3, 2019, http://www.sudantribune.net/مجلس–السيادة–يلغي–قرار–تبعية–جهاز

 

 

 

 

[2]                                The TRA report “the most important indicators of communications performance up to the first half of 2019” last visit December 7, 2019, https://tpra.gov.sd/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/indicators_2019_Q2.pdf