S. Sudan rebel official criticizes trial of ex-spokesperson
August 26, 2017 (JUBA) – A member of South Sudan’s armed opposition faction allied to former First Vice President, Riek Machar has described as “unfair” charges labeled against James Gatdet Dak, the ex-spokesperson for the rebel leader who is now in jail.
“I would like to make it categorically clear to the people of South Sudan, the region and the international community that there is no justice to be delivered to James Gatdet Dak by that Juba Kangaroo court and therefore we condemn the process in the strongest terms possible as the primary indicators for his arrangement before the court shows circumvention of the rule of law,” he said on Saturday.
Dak was arrested from Nairobi and deported back to Juba last year.
Lam, however, said Dak’s trail, in which he appeared without a lawyer, demonstrated the “decayed” judicial machinery meant to dispense injustice as opposed to core necessities of their existence.
The former rebel spokesperson, Lam told Sudan Tribune, was accused of treason, sabotage dishonesty, giving false information against the young nation and allegedly insulting the head of state.
According to rebel official, Dak’s trial took place in Arabic dialect, and the presiding judge denied him access to a chosen translator.
“We call upon the national human rights institutions, the regional and international human rights bodies to ensure an expeditious court proceeding and provide him [Dak] with the necessary legal assistance and a lawyer of his choice,” said Lam.
(ST)