Sudan suspends NGO that took government to court over internet access

Sudan’s military government has withdrawn the accreditation of a consumer protection group that took it to court over internet cuts during last year’s military coup, the group said Sunday.

The Sudanese Consumer Protection Society (SCPS) asked a court last year to order the government to restore internet services blocked during the October 25 coup, a power grab that has derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule.

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A court had twice ruled that the internet should be restored, to no avail, before services eventually resumed on November 18 last year.

Yasir Mirghani, head of the SCPS, told AFP he was handed on Sunday a decision dated October 9 to revoke the group’s permit after 24 years of operations.

A copy of the order, which has been seen by AFP, stipulated the “deregistration, seizure of assets and property, and the freezing of assets and accounts of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society in all banks within and outside Sudan,” but did not list the group’s alleged violations.

Sudan has been in turmoil since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the mainstream civilian bloc from a power-sharing government a year ago, triggering widespread international condemnation.

The power-sharing administration had been established in 2019 after the military ousted long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid enormous street protests.

Since last year’s coup, the protest movement has revived but been met by force that has killed at least 117 people, according to pro-democracy medics.

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