One third of the 6,000 or so inmates in 79 prisons of South Sudan has not been convicted of any offense or even charged, but are detained, often for long periods, waiting for police, prosecutors, and judges to process their cases.
The revelation comes in a 105-page report titled “Prison Is Not for Me: Arbitrary Detention in South Sudan”, prepared by Human Rights Watch.The document says flawed processes, unlawful detentions, and dire conditions in South Sudan’s prisons reflect the urgent need to improve the new nation’s fledgling justice system.
Human Rights Watch Africa director Daniel Bekele said the experience of those in detention in South Sudan reveals serious flaws in the emerging justice system.
He added that South Sudan is a new country and badly needs an effective justice system that upholds human rights and dignity.
The research was carried out in 12 of the country’s 79 prisons, in areas with the largest prison populations.
Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 250 inmates and a range of justice officials, correctional officers, police, prosecutors, and traditional authorities.
The rights NGO says South Sudan’s plural legal system, mixing formal courts with customary courts presided over by chiefs, presents concerns relating to the guarantee of due process rights.
It added that many inmates were detained due to marital or sexual offenses such as adultery and elopement √ɬê offenses in both statutory and customary laws that violate internationally protected rights to privacy and to marry a spouse of one’s choice.