The family of Adil Faris Mayat, a journalist and former director of the country’s public broadcaster, South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, is urging authorities to release him immediately.
Mayat’s wife, Amira Alnahawi, told Radio Tamazuj Monday afternoon that she believes security agents arrested her husband in Juba last week.
“After reaching out to several contacts in Juba, I was informed that Adil is currently being detained by the National Security Service at the Blue House,” she said.
“I can confirm that Adil is being held at the National Security Service detention center. He was arrested and taken into custody last Thursday,” she added.
According to his wife, no charges or investigations have been brought against him thus far.
Adil’s arrest is yet another stain on South Sudan’s already poor press freedom record.
Government officials were unavailable for comment.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly urged the South Sudanese government to limit the NSS’s powers to intelligence gathering, as stipulated in the Transitional Constitution. The Constitution mandates the agency to focus on information collection, analysis, and providing advice to relevant authorities.
The agency also continues to detain Emmanuel Monychol, the editor-in-chief of Juba’s daily English-language newspaper, The Dawn.
In July 2024, the South Sudanese National Legislative Assembly amended the National Security Service Act, further expanding the agency’s powers.
The controversial amendments, passed by a vote of 274-114, grant the NSS the authority to arrest and detain individuals without a warrant, a move that rights groups warn could exacerbate ongoing abuses.