Rights body demands release of former S. Sudan army chief
October 27, 2017 (JUBA) – The Center for Peace and Justice (CPJ) has called for unconditional release of South Sudan’s former army chief of staff, Paul Malong Awan and the other political figures being detained in the young nation.
He claims Awan, who was sacked by the president in May, was unlawfully being detained in a manner that was unacceptable.
“The systematic violations of human rights by the President [Salva] Kiir and [first vice president] Taban Deng will have consequences,” said Tito, while adding that “They will have to account for their decisions”.
He says although Article 101 of the Constitution gives the president excessive powers, such powers, he insisted, shall not be misused for illegal detention of citizens without clear explanations in the court.
The right body urged the South Sudan leader to respect the rights of the country’s citizens to exercise their freedoms and liberties as provided for in the Bill of Rights.
The ex-army chief was one of the three officials sanctioned by the United States administration last month for undermining peace, security and stability in the country.
The sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker said, implied freezing assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions, banning them from travelling to the U.S and preventing Americans from doing business with them.
The nearly four-year conflict in South Sudan had killed tens of thousands of people and driven more than two million children out of the country, the United Nations says.
(ST).