Rights body demands immediate release of political prisoners

March 1, 2016 (KAMPALA) – South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy (SSHURSA) is calling on South Sudan government and the armed country’s armed opposition (SPLM-IO), led by the designated first vice president, Riek Machar to immediately release all detained war prisoners.

“There are hundreds of prisoners of war still being held by the parties. The process of releasing them has been very slow and this is in a total disregard to the provision of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan that calls for their immediate release,” SSHURSA said in a statement.

Sub-article 1.10 of Article 1, Chapter II of the peace agreement, it said, obliges the parties to ensure immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of war and all those detained in connection with the conflict.

According to the rights body, both parties should have cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on release of the prisoners.

“No release since the parties signed the Agreement in August 2015. Failure to release the prisoners of war also violates international humanitarian law, specifically the Geneva Conventions to which South Sudan is party. The Geneva Convention protects victims of armed conflict and non combatants,” it said.

SSHURSA said most of detainees are held in the security cell under cruel, degrading and inhuman conditions in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.

“Some are being held underground without being given adequate food, medical attention and access to immediate relatives, according to the narratives of the family members of the detainees”, it further stressed.

The rights body claims there were detention camps located along the River Nile.

“Many persons including former victims have confirmed to SSHURSA that it is a place where both prisoners of war and political detainees are tortured and subject to more degrading treatment by the government security agents,” the statement noted.

SSHURSA also urged parties to conflicts to release prisoners specifically calling on the South Sudanese government to releases war prisoner and other political detainees’, particularly former governor of Western Equatoria Joseph Bakosoro, who has been under arrest without trial since last year.

“Keeping persons in detention without trial is humiliation to their dignity and abuse of their rights to fair trial under article 19(4) of the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 2011 which obliges the arresting authority to bring the accused person before the court of law within 24 hours”, it said, accusing government and its agents for violating provisions of laws.

It called on international community, the Troika and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to put pressure on parties to immediately release prisoners of war as specified in the peace deal.

“The government must be specifically urged to also release those persons detained under politically motivated fabrications, including Governor Joseph Bakosoro and other several detainees,” it further urged.

(ST)