An organization which advocates for release of political prisoners says dozens of detainees are being held in metal shipping containers south of Juba at risk of death.

Amnesty International said in a report released Friday that the detainees are held in "poorly ventilated metal shipping containers, fed only once or twice a week and given insufficient drinking water" at a site called Gorom 20 km south of Juba.

The group said the detainees are mostly civilians and have not been charged with any offences but are accused of links with the SPLM/A-In Opposition. "They do not have access to family members, lawyers, or courts," Amnesty said.

Som of the detainees have already died. "Soldiers also periodically take [detainees] out of the containers and beat them," the group added.

“Detainees are suffering in appalling conditions and their overall treatment is nothing short of torture,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

The group said the people are held in shipping containers arranged in an L shape inside two fences and that the site has been operational since early November 2015. The group released a satellite image allegedly showing the site along with their report.

Amnesty said they have written to director of military intelligence major general Marial Nour as well as president Salva Kiir about the site. They called on Kiir to order an investigation into the site and halt any abuses committed there.

Amnesty also recently documented the killing of more than 60 men and boys in a shipping contained in Leer, Unity state last year by pro-government forces.

Photo: Gorom detention site, Digital Globe/Google Earth/Amnesty International

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