Sudan: Telecommunications Authority Will Not Restore Internet Service

Despite the recent Khartoum District Court ruling ordering Sudan’s three main internet providers to restore internet service to all users in the country, the Telecommunications Authority has stated that services will not be restored.

In response, the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority, stated in a circular that the internet shut-down remains in force until further notice.

The court ruling was the second one last week that ordered the return of internet services to the customers. Last Tuesday, a Khartoum judge directed MTN, Zain, and Sudani, the country’s major providers, to restore services, in a lawsuit brought by eight complainants on behalf of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Association. The internet was subsequently restored to these eight people only.

Yasir Mirghani, head of the Consumer Protection Association, told Radio Dabanga, that they consider the refusal to restore the internet “a deception of the law,” and added that they intend “to submit a request to issue arrest warrants against the directors of the telecommunications companies in case the new ruling is not implemented by Sunday.”

Impact

Mirghani said that the Khartoum District Court will consider the case lodged by the Consumer Protection Association on the damages caused by the Internet blackout. For this reason, he called on all internet users to individually submit compensation requests to Judge Tarig Abdellatif at the Khartoum District Court.

Activists in Khartoum complained to Radio Dabanga about the great impact of the internet blackout on reporting human rights violations since the October 25 military coup.

The Internet blackout is also “hindering the organisation of activities opposing the military coup to a certain extent”.

Members of resistance committees active in the neighbourhoods of Khartoum now resort to leaflets and oral calls to promote the November 13 and November 17 Marches of the Millions against the military.

On social media, a poster is circulating that requests Sudanese abroad to send text messages to their relatives and friends in Sudan with information about the November 13 protests.