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The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) has expressed concern over the disappearance of the editor-in-chief of The Dawn Daily English newspaper, allegedly arrested by the National Security Service (NSS) last month.
On November 28, officers believed to be from the NSS visited The Dawn Daily newspaper’s office in Juba, held a meeting with Akop, and subsequently took him into custody without presenting an arrest warrant. Since then, nothing has been heard about him.
Patrick Oyet, President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), emphasized that South Sudanese law mandates that any arrested person must be brought before a competent court within 24 hours.
Oyet told Radio Tamazuj: “At the moment, we do not have any official information. What we have is unconfirmed information. His whereabouts are unknown, and people only suspect that he is in the Blue House [the NSS Internal Security Bureau (ISB)].”
The journalist’s arrest has raised concerns about the unchecked powers of security operatives under the National Security Service Act of 2014, which was amended this year to allow arrests without a warrant.
The passage of this law faced criticism from local and international human rights organizations and press freedom advocates, who warn that it could undermine civil liberties and press freedom.
Akop’s arrest adds to a troubling trend of harassment against media workers in South Sudan.
NSS spokesperson John David Kumuri did not respond to questions sent via WhatsApp at the time of publishing this report on Radio Tamazuj’s webs
