New law on ‘information crimes’ proposed in Sudan

A new law is to be considered by the Sudanese Parliament which will include severe penalties for defamation of character and misuse of social media.

In a statement from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Khartoum, Communications Minister, Tahani Abdullah, said a new law on information crimes would be submitted to Parliament within days.

The new law includes penalties for defamation of character and offences relating to the misuse of social media.

Minister Abdullah explained that the law aims to reduce crime and is not intended as punishment, which includes national security crimes, child abuse and cross-border crimes.

The Minister has ruled out any direction of the Ministry to block or censor electronic media.

The number of Internet users in Sudan is about 11 million, while the number of mobile service subscribers is 28 million according to the latest government census 2016.

Sudan ranks near the bottom of international press freedom indexes, newspapers are frequently seized or gagged, and freedom of expression is strictly curtailed.