Rights groups urge Kenya to release of two S. Sudan activists

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Rights groups urge Kenya to release of two S. Sudan activists

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January 24, 2017 (NAIROBI/JUBA) - The Enough Project, Human Rights
Watch and other international voices have appealed to Kenyan
authorities to immediately release of two South Sudanese citizens and
political opposition figures, Aggrey Idri and Dong Samuel Luak.

JPEG - 37.9 kb
SPLM (IO) deputy chairman for justice and human rights affairs, Samuel
Dong Luak, pictured after his return from hospital, Nairobi, October
13, 2015 (ST Photo)

The two activists, according to their lawyer, are being detained by
Kenyan authorities in Nairobi and are subject to a deportation order.

Their lives and safety are at “immediate” risk, if they are extradited
from Nairobi to Juba as ordered, the lawyer told rights bodies.

The Enough Project, in a statement, called on Kenyan President Uhuru
Kenyatta and the Kenyan security authorities to “immediately” release
both men and nullify the deportation orders the are facing.

Human Rights Watch also expressed concerns over the arrest of Luak, a
South Sudanese lawyer and human rights advocate, saying he was denied
access to legal counsel and could be deported.

“Dong Samuel Luak has been a vocal advocate for human rights in South
Sudan for many years, and could face serious mistreatment if returned
to South Sudan,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human
Rights Watch.

“Kenyan authorities should respect his rights, allow him access to
legal counsel and United Nations refugee officials, and immediately
halt any deportation proceedings against him,” he added.

Luak fled to Kenya in August 2013, after receiving death threats
following his defense of Pagan Amum, the former secretary general of
South Sudan’s governing party, whom the South Sudanese government had
accused of involvement in treason.

Since South Sudan’s conflict began in December 2013, Luak has
continued publicly to denounce human rights abuses and corruption by
South Sudanese government officials. In October 2015, he was brutally
attacked at his home in Nairobi by men thought to be linked to South
Sudan’s security services.

Kenya has, in recent years, unlawfully deported several prominent
opposition members from neighboring countries to their countries of
origin, despite being recognized as refugees under Kenyan law and
protests by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).

In November last year, Kenya deported James Gatdet Dak, who was South
Sudan rebel leader, Riek Machar’s spokesperson. He is currently held,
without charge, at South Sudan National Security Services (NSS)
headquarters.

There are serious concerns that the same fate, or worse, may await
Luak if Kenya forcibly returns him to Juba, Human Rights Watch said.

“Dong Samuel Luak is at serious risk of arbitrary detention, torture,
and other abuses if returned to South Sudan,” stressed Lefkow.

“Kenyan authorities need to respect their obligations under
international and Kenyan law and ensure he is protected,” he added.

(ST)