SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Global Voices - Sudan's revised cybercrime law falls short on its promise
Khattab Hamad’s explores the potential abuse of Sudan’s Cybercrime Act of 2020 to limit freedom of expression.
Ahmed Elsanousi, a lawyer specialising in criminal code and administrative law, suggests that the act “contains vague and unclear terms,” making it easily exploitable.
Dissecting the text of the act, Hamad argues that government institutions may violate fundamental freedoms and the privacy of opposition and activist voices through terms that “lack clarity and definition,” such as: national security, prestige of the state, sensitive information and designated authority.
Orwa Alsadig, a member of the Empowerment Removal Committee who was sued by Head of state Lt. Gen. Abdulfattah al-Burhan and charged with “publishing lies and fake news and committing insults of disrepute” under the law, calls for legal and legislative reform in line with the international bill that guarantees freedom of expression, alongside laws that control media work and combat publishing that incites hate speech.