This archive report was first published on 10 July 2019.
On July 9, 2019, a court in Sudan ordered telecom companies to restore mobile internet services, which had been cut off weeks earlier following a brutal crackdown on protesters.
On June 3, 2019, armed men in military fatigues stormed a protest camp outside army headquarters in Khartoum, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of demonstrators.
Days later, internet services on mobile phones and fixed land connections were cut across Sudan, with users saying it was done to prevent further mobilization of protesters.
Khartoum-based lawyer Abdelazim al-Hassan filed a case against the blockade, urging the court to order telecom company Zain to restore internet services on his own mobile phone.
"I returned to court and said that numerous clients of Zain and other telecom companies were impacted due to the cut," Abdelazim al-Hassan told a news conference on Tuesday.
"Today, the court issued an order to Zain and to MTN and Sudani to restore their mobile internet services," he added, referring to three telecom companies.
Later on Tuesday, the internet services on MTN, Sudani, and Zain networks were restored, users said.
Several subscribers of MTN and Sudani confirmed they were able to make voice and video calls through social media networks like WhatsApp.
"I'm still not happy because this should not have been done," said Marwa Abdelrahim, a lecturer at Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman.
"The government has no right to hold the country as hostage," she added.
