The law wins fights for citizens under the dictatorial rule: this is what happened in Sudan when a judge ruled to restore the internet service to the Sudanese after it was cut off in the aftermath of the October 25 coup.

In the last three years, Sudan has experienced numerous internet outages and interference owing to the ongoing political crisis. The government also orders outages during the nationwide secondary school exam, known as the Sudanese Certificate, as a way to prevent cheating with outsiders sending answers to those taking the exam. These incidents have raised alarm over the growing use of internet shutdowns both in Sudan and in the greater region. Yet, the legal basis for internet shutdowns has never been properly examined, even though it might offer insight into possible paths for advocacy against the practice...

The last internet shutdown in Sudan began on October 25, 2021, and lasted for twenty-five days. It took place during Lt. Gen. Burhan‘s coup. He is the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces — the official name of the Sudan Army — and justified the internet shutdown by saying it would “save the national unity and national security from the threats that the state is facing.”, as illustrated in the screenshot below...

The shutdown was also based on the Armed Forces Law, and the Emergency Law, which are two broad laws that are invoked to give the executive broad powers during times of political unrest...

The Open Observatory of Network Interference explorer (OONI explorer) shows that WhatsApp was not accessible through providers Zain Sudan and MTN SD but it was accessible through Canar Telecom Company. It also shows that Telegram was not accessible through MTN SD while it was accessible through Canar and Zain Sudan...

Days after the coup, an alliance consisting of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Organization (SCPO), Dr Yassir Mirghani, the Secretary-General of SCPO, Abdalazeem Hassan on behalf of the allied attorneys’ law firm, Salma Mohamed and Tasneem Hashim filed suit challenging the internet shutdown on the basis of their subscription contracts with the telecom companies. On November 9, 2021, the general court of Khartoum ordered the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restore internet service to the SIM cards of the complainants. After two days, the same court ordered the ISPs to restore internet service for all subscribers all over Sudan...

On November 11, Al-Sadig Gamaludin, the general manager of the Sudanese Telecommunication and Postal Regulatory (TPRA) issued an administrative decision directing the ISPs to continue cutting off internet services, saying...

The ISPs appealed the TPRA's decision, and the judge rejected it and ordered them to restore internet services. The government ignored this directive. Subsequently, the general court in Khartoum issued an arrest warrant for the CEOs of telecom companies in Sudan, denying their release until they restored internet services to all subscribers. As a result, the internet was restored with some restrictions on social media sites...