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Amnesty International: South Sudan authorities must reveal whereabouts of detained government critic – JURIST

Amnesty International Saturday called on South Sudanese authorities to clarify the fate and whereabouts of detained South Sudanese government critic, Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak. The organization made the statement as a response and applause to a petition filed by Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU) in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) asking the court to establish his whereabouts. This detention of South Sudanese refugees in Kenya by South Sudan’s National Security Service continues to spike fear amongst other South Sudanese refugees residing in Kenya.In a statement by the organization, Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Flavia Mwangovya, said:What happened to Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak matches a broader pattern of abductions and illegal transfers of South Sudanese refugees from neighboring countries by South Sudan’s National Security Service(NSS). This case brings back haunting memories of the enforced disappearance in Kenya and alleged extrajudicial killings in South Sudan of South Sudanese human rights lawyer and activist Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Ezbon Idri, a member of the political opposition.Earlier this month, the organization also urged the South Sudanese authorities to release Morris until there is proof that he committed an international recognizable offense. It stated that, “In addition to clarifying the fate and whereabouts of Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak, the South Sudanese authorities must ensure he has regular access to his family, a lawyer and a doctor, unless he is charged with an internationally recognisable offence, immediately release him.” The unlawful detention offends Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which seeks to promote human rights.Morris Mabior was reported to have been arbitrarily arrested by armed Kenyan Security forces and detained in South Sudan on February 4. He has been a great critic of South Sudan’s government.