The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented the sentencing of Sudanese activist Ayman Hariri to six months in prison, along with a fine of two million Sudanese pounds, following his conviction under Articles (24) and (25) of the Cybercrime Act, over a Facebook post published in 2024.
According to CFJ’s documentation, the ruling was issued over a post in which Hariri criticized the use of the “Youth House” premises—originally designated for hosting displaced persons and emergency rooms—as a headquarters for the security cell, following the authorities’ decision to dissolve emergency rooms.
CFJ emphasizes that this security cell, which includes members of the Armed Forces, Military Intelligence, General Intelligence Service, and Police, has been linked in recent months to a series of violations, including arbitrary arrests carried out by masked armed men—practices that blatantly contradict the basic principles of the rule of law.
The Committee views the sentence against Ayman Hariri as a troubling trend of using laws—particularly the amended Cybercrime Act—as a tool to criminalize freedom of expression and target activists and human rights defenders, especially those who criticize violations or raise anti-war and anti-arbitrary detention slogans.
CFJ warns that the continued issuance of such rulings signals a serious deterioration in the human rights situation in Sudan and reinforces an environment of repression and silencing dissent. The Committee calls for the repeal of laws restricting freedoms, ensuring respect for the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and halting politically motivated prosecutions.
