SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies - A female human rights defender faces trial for online publication of “false news” under the Cybercrimes Act, 2018
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) call for Sudanese authorities to “respect and guarantee the right to freedom of expression as provided for in article 56 of the 2018 Constitutional Declaration and international and regional human rights treaties that Sudan is a state party to,” with law enforcement agencies to be instructed to cease harassing and intimidating individuals exercising their rights legitimately.
ACJPS also call for the decriminalisation of “false news” and proposes reforms adhering to regional and international standards to which Sudan has committed: the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
ACJPS add that the Cybercrimes Act was designed by al-Bashir’s regime to limit the freedom of activists, bloggers, and media professionals, and that it was amended in 2020 to increase terms of imprisonment for various penalties including the online publication of false news.