Police free VOA journalist after one week in detention
The South Sudan police on Monday freed Voice of America journalist Diing Magot who was detained on August 7th while covering street protests over high food and fuel prices.
Magot’s freedom comes on the heels relentless engagement by the Union of Journalists in South Sudan (UJOSS) led by Oyet Patrick Charles.
UJOSS had prior condemned the arrest of the scribe for doing her rightful work.
“I really welcome the efforts of UJOSS because this work is the sign of unity,” John Wulu Deng, a civil society activist told The Juba Echo in Juba.
| The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 2011, Article 19 (4) provides that “A person arrested by the police as part of an investigation may be held in detention for a period not exceeding 24 hours and if not released on bond to be produced in court. A team of lawyers who represented Magot had earlier been denied access to her which is clear violation of Article; 19 (7) of the transitional constitution. |
Reporters without borders (RSF) ranks South Sudan as one of the worst countries when it comes to persecution and arbitrary arrests of journalists globally.
