Sudan to bring Cybercrime Prosecutor into existence

The presidency of the republic has instructed to bring prosecutors specialised in human trafficking crimes, especially in the border states, and cybercrime into existence.

On Wednesday First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh instructed the Sudanese attorney-general to authorise prosecutions in all localities for terrorism, disarmament, and immigration or customs violations. His instructions aims “to shorten the administrative and justice shadow, so that everyone can resort to the law”, a press release read.

Last week, Sudan’s Chief Justice Haydar Ahmed Dafallah announced strict regulations on the electronic media. He directed punitive measures, including imprisonment, fines, and lashes, for “cybercrimes on social media”, and the appointment of three judges instead of one at Sudan’s Cybercrime Court.

But according to human rights lawyer Saleh Mahmoud, the government's fight against social media and other electronic means of publication raises concerns about further restrictions on civil freedoms in the country. The authorities are attempting to restrict the domains of electronic publishing and social media under the pretext of combating cybercrime, he thinks.

The lawyer told Radio Dabanga that the government is violating the 2005 Interim Constitution and international human rights agreements. “The people have the right to know the motives behind the various decisions taken by the government.”

Weapons collection

Hashim Osman, the representative of the attorney-general. He said that a legal, military and media plan has been developed in order for the illegal weapons collection campaign to succeed. “Justice must be brought to anyone who contravenes the law by carrying arms illegally.”

The nationwide disarmament campaign which started in Darfur and West Kordofan aims to collect illegal arms from civilians in Darfur and seize unregistered vehicles, which authorities pointed out as being the tools of criminals used in banditry. The army and the allied paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are tasked with the collection while in the first phase, citizens were requested to hand in their weapons at the nearest police station. The second phase of the campaign includes enforced collection, state authorities said last week. 

'Political fraud'

The main objective of the campaign, under the supervision of Vice President Hasabo Abdelrahman, is to settle the dispute with militia and clan leader Musa Hilal, according to legal analyst Ahmed Hussein Adam.

The associate researcher at the University of London School Of Law told Radio Dabanga that “the collection of weapons in Darfur comes only within the context of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1556 of 2004 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which stipulates the disarming and dismantling of janjaweed militias and bringing their leaders to justice”.

The campaign is expected to lead to a new chapter of conflict and internal fighting between militias in Darfur. Hussein Adam explained that it is a strategy to rid the militias after exhausting their purposes, by igniting internal sedition and fuelling conflict between its social cisterns.

He referred to the need for the government to settle their dispute with Musa Hilal, head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, and chief of the Mahameed clan, who has strongly defended the Darfur Border Guards militia and renewed his refusal to integrate it to the RSF.