The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on Monday quashed charges against Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak, an activist and government critic.
Last month, Mabior’s lead defense Counsel Kiir Chol Deng said he had written to the Justice Ministry to question the head of the legal administration in the National Security Bureau (NSB) why the accused remained in jail for almost one year and four months despite being granted bail.
On April 24, the National Security Service’s (NSS) Internal Security Bureau (ISB) brought Mabior before a court in Juba to face charges for criminal defamation against the ISB Director General, Gen Akol Koor, but the hearing was deferred.
Mabior, a former refugee in Kenya, was abducted on February 4, 2023 in Nairobi and returned to South Sudan where he has since been detained by the NSS, which refused to acknowledge that they were holding him until he was suddenly produced in court.
A letter written by Justice Minister Ruben Madol Arol, dated June 10, 2024, seen by Radio Tamazuj, says that after perusing the facts presented by the defense and the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecutions, he accepted the request to grant bail and quash the case.
“I agree with the legal opinion of Director of Public Prosecutions for quashing the charges against accused person Morris Mabior in criminal case No. 3307/2023 under sections 28/75/76 of the Penal Code Act, 2008, for he is facing charges under criminal proceedings No. 5445/2021,” reads the minister’s statement in part.
Reacting to the decision of the Justice Ministry, Lawyer Deng said he expected his client to be released within the next few hours.
“Today (Monday), the Minister has just quashed the charges for which our client is being detained, so we are expecting the detaining authority to release our client within few hours,” he said.
Deng said the charges quashed included insulting the president and undermining the authority of the head of state.
The court session was adjourned to Wednesday due to power outage.
“The power went off and the court could not continue, so the case will continue on the 12th,” Deng said.