SPLM youth leader released from detention in N. Bahr el Ghazal
January 16, 2013 (WAU) – Police authorities in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal have released the leader of the state’s youth wing of south-ruling party after detaining him from Sunday 13 January, relatives and friends have said.
Garang Valentino Wol Kon Amoi on Sunday told Sudan Tribune from a detention centre in the state capital, Aweil that he was stopped while on the way to his house from town and arrested by police authorities without being given a letter of arrest.
No official statement explaining or denying circumstances which necessitated the action was release and Sudan Tribune was not able to independently verify the possible cause.
Relatives and friends claimed he is accused by individuals in the state administration of acting in collaboration with other high level officials in the Juba-based central government of failing to allegedly relax his campaign against inclusion of the 14 mile area in Safe Demilitarise Buffer Zone (SDBZ) between Sudan and South Sudan.
The border area, known as Mile 14 due to its size, was controversially part of the buffer zone negotiated in the Cooperation Agreement between the two sides under African Union mediation.
The demilitarised border zone is aimed at easing tensions between Sudan and the South, which seceded in 2011, as part of a 2005 peace deal, creating the world’s newest international border.
Much of the oil-rich and fertile border remains is yet to be demarcated, with many disputed areas, including Abyei, claimed by both sides
Police sources last week claimed they acted on the directives of the “higher authorities” but failed to attribute or mention specific individuals or the positions of those who authorised the arrest, which is contrary constitutional and legal procedures.
Amoi, in an interview with Sudan Tribune on Thursday, said was released “without charge” and nobody could explain why he was arrested or who authorised it.
“I have been released without being taken to court. I was told to go. Just like that. I asked them to produce charges but they did not say anything. So relatives and friends asked me to leave. I refused but they insisted I should listen to their advice”, Amoi told Sudan Tribune by phone from Aweil.
(ST)